Strong contribution to Novartis ophthalmology offering expected from Xiidra

The completion of the up to $5.3 billion acquisition of dry eye syndrome (DES) drug Xiidra (lifitegrast ophthalmic solution) by Novartis (NOVN: VX) from Japan’s Takeda (TYO: 4502) earlier this week is expected to significantly expand the Swiss pharma giant’s sales in this therapy sector.

“The deal will extend Novartis’ ophthalmology portfolio showing its commitment to be an ophthalmology player after the spin-off of its eye disease device unit, Alcon, earlier this year, commented Alessio Brunello, senior pharma analyst at analytics from GlobalData.

But the market for Xiidra could face a few challenges as generic versions of its main rival, Allergan’s (NYSE: AGN) Restasis (cyclosporine ophthalmic emulsion), are available due to patent loss protection in May 2019. However, Restasis targets just the sign of the disease and not the symptoms giving Xiidra a competitive advantage, he noted.