NicOx rockets on Vyzulta approval

French eye-care specialist NicOx (Euronext Paris: COX) was trading 29% up at 11.14 euros mid-way through Friday’s trading in Paris, while across the Atlantic, Canadian drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (TSX: VRX) looked set to open 5% up at around $11.65.

The reason was the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of Vyzulta (latanoprostene bunod ophthalmic solution), the first prostaglandin analog with one of its metabolites being nitric oxide (NO), for the reduction of intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension.

Vyzulta was licensed on a global basis to the Valeant subsidiary Bausch + Lomb from NicOx. Its approval follows two FDA rejections based on concerns with Valeant’s manufacturing plant in Florida.