03.25.13
Shire has entered an agreement to acquire SARcode Bioscience, Inc. for an upfront payment of $160 million and additional clinical, regulatory, and commercial milestones. The acquisition expands Shire’s ophthalmology portfolio with a Phase III compound LIFITEGRAST for the treatment of dry eye. Shire anticipates launching the drug in the U.S. as early as 2016. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter, subject to customary closing conditions.
"The acquisition of SARcode is a demonstration of Shire's focus on continuing to build our research and development pipeline with innovative, well-differentiated assets that address significant unmet patient need," said Flemming Ornskov, M.D., Shire's chief executive officer Designate. "This acquisition and our recent acquisition of Premacure have the potential to provide the basis for an attractive ophthalmology business for our company, given the significant growth opportunities in this therapeutic area as well as Shire's proven expertise in specialist markets."
"The acquisition of SARcode is a demonstration of Shire's focus on continuing to build our research and development pipeline with innovative, well-differentiated assets that address significant unmet patient need," said Flemming Ornskov, M.D., Shire's chief executive officer Designate. "This acquisition and our recent acquisition of Premacure have the potential to provide the basis for an attractive ophthalmology business for our company, given the significant growth opportunities in this therapeutic area as well as Shire's proven expertise in specialist markets."