M&A

Merck, known as MSD outside of the US and Canada, and EyeBiotech Limited, have announced that the two companies have entered into a definitive agreement under which Merck, through one of its subsidiaries, will acquire EyeBio.

Under the terms of this agreement, Merck’s subsidiary will acquire all outstanding shares of EyeBio for up to $3bn, comprised of an upfront $1.3bn and a further potential $1.7bn in developmental, regulatory and commercial milestone payments.

The acquisition has already been unanimously approved by EyeBio’s board of directors. 

EyeBio’s acquisition is intended to augment Merck’s pipeline, as well as expanding its presence in the ophthalmology space, with EyeBio’s pipeline of clinical and preclinical candidates for the prevention and treatment of vision loss associated with retinal vascular leakage. This includes its lead candidate, Restoret (EYE103), an investigational, potentially first-in-class tetravalent, tri-specific antibody that ‘acts as an agonist of the Wingless-related integration site (Wnt) signaling pathway’, according to the company’s press release.

Dr Dean Y Li, president of Merck Research Laboratories, commented: “We continue to execute on our science-led business development strategy to expand and diversify our pipeline. The EyeBio team, under the leadership of Dr David Guyer and Dr Tony Adamis, has a strong track record of developing groundbreaking ophthalmology therapies. By combining our strengths, we aim to advance with rigour and speed the development of their promising pipeline of candidates targeting retinal diseases.” 

Dr David R Guyer, chief executive officer and president at EyeBio, added: “The EyeBio team has successfully assembled a pipeline of novel candidates with the potential to provide new treatment options for patients with retinal disease. As a subsidiary of Merck, EyeBio will be positioned to tap into the resources and infrastructure needed to support the clinical, regulatory and commercial development of these candidates and help bring them to patients worldwide.” 

“Less than three years ago, EyeBio was hatched to translate Dr David Guyer’s idea for a potential new therapy for retinal diseases into a reality,” said Kate Bingham, EyeBio board chair and managing partner, SV Health Investors. “This agreement reflects the hard work of the talented EyeBio team, led by Dr Guyer, who through this agreement have placed Restoret on a defined development path to patients.”