Allergan has acquired worldwide rights to TARIS Biomedical’s lead program, LiRIS, currently in Phase II development for the treatment of interstitial cystitis / bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS), for $67.5 million in cash. Allergan will also pay as much as $295 million in development milestones, and as much as $225 million in commercial milestones.
 
TARIS previously spun out certain assets, including pipeline programs and intellectual property related to TARIS’ platform technology, to a new company funded by TARIS shareholders.
 
“Allergan has a longstanding history of delivering stockholder value by developing innovative medical treatments that address unmet medical needs,” said David E.I. Pyott, chairman of the board and chief executive officer, Allergan. “The acquisition of LiRIS is an important addition to our growing urology pipeline and, if approved, will provide a local treatment for interstitial cystitis / bladder pain syndrome, which is a debilitating bladder condition.”
 
“This transaction is a win for patients, for our shareholders and employees, and for the future potential of our core delivery technologies,” said Purnanand Sarma, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of TARIS. “Allergan is an ideal partner for advancing LiRIS because of its team’s expertise in drug delivery technologies, specialty product development and commercialization in the urology market. Building on the success of LiRIS so far, we will now be able to focus our efforts on developing a rich pipeline of applications of our technology, including new treatments for bladder cancer and other areas of unmet need in urology.”