Novartis bolsters ophthalmology pipeline through acquisition

In a busy news day, Swiss pharma giant Novartis (NOVN: VX) has today announced another acquisition, this time that of a privately-held US company focused on the development of a novel treatment in presbyopia, adding to its licensing deal with Conatus Pharmaceuticals.

This acquisition of Encore Vision would add a first-in-class disease modifying topical treatment for presbyopia to the Novartis ophthalmology pipeline, providing a potentially disruptive innovation to patients in a new therapeutic area of high unmet need and high prevalence. The transaction, financial terms of which were not disclosed, is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval.

"There is a large need for innovative, effective and safe treatment options for people with presbyopia, and there is currently no disease-modifying treatment available at all," said Vasant Narasimhan, global head, drug development and chief medical officer at Novartis, adding: "Novartis confirms its leadership in ophthalmology by entering another new therapy area. The addition of this topical disease modifying treatment to our portfolio, if successful, will provide affected people with a new option to improve and maintain their vision and quality of life."