Alcon has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire ESBATech AG for $150 million in cash at closing, plus achievement-based R&D payments of as much as $439 million. ESBATech is a Swiss clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a pipeline of single-chain antibody fragment therapeutics for topical and local delivery.

ESBATech has several stable and soluble single-chain antibody fragments in development, as well as a product candidate that has progressed into Phase I and II studies for the treatment of inflammatory ocular diseases.

"Biotechnology offers significant growth opportunities in ophthalmology because it has the potential to deliver therapies with superior efficacy and safety relative to existing approaches," said Sabri Markabi, M.D., Alcon's senior vice president of R&D and chief medical officer. "Combining ESBATech's proprietary antibody fragment technology with our expertise in ophthalmic formulation and capabilities in global development will strengthen Alcon's leadership position in ophthalmology."

The agreement includes all rights to ESBATech’s technology for therapeutic application to the eye. Also, ESBATech’s employees of will join Alcon following the acquisition. The rights to the technology and products for application outside of ophthalmology will be retained by the previous shareholders of ESBATech and spun off into a separate new company, Delenex Therapeutics AG.

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