Allergan closes $300m AqueSys buyout

Allergan (NYSE: AGN) said today that it closed its $300 million, all-cash acquisition of AqueSys and its Xen soft glaucoma stent, in a deal that also includes unspecified milestone payments.

The device made by Aliso Viejo, Calif.-based AqueSys is designed to treat glaucoma by shunting intra-ocular fluid from the anterior chamber of the eye into the sub-conjunctival space. The company raised a $43.6 million Series D funding round and closed enrollment in U.S. clinical trial of the Xen Gel stent in January 2014. Allergan announced the deal last month.

“The acquisition of AqueSys and Xen45 is highly complementary to our leadership position in eye care and underscores our commitment to develop and commercialize treatments that advance care and add value for ophthalmologists and their patients,” president & CEO Brent Saunders said today in prepared remarks. “The treatment of glaucoma is increasingly shifting to dropless therapies given the challenges of patient compliance. The Xen45 device provides a minimally invasive approach to lowering IOP for physicians and their patients seeking new ways to treat glaucoma that go beyond conventional eye drop treatments.”

The Xen45 device has CE Mark approval in the European Union and is in late-stage development in the U.S., with approval expected by late 2016 or early 2017.

“In my glaucoma patients, I see a tremendous need for products that can help improve the process and compliance of treatment, in a minimally invasive way,” added Dr. Ike Ahmed of the University of Toronto. “Xen45 provides just that — a minimally invasive procedure that helps to lower IOP effectively while minimizing the need for patients to remember, and be compliant with, their treatment. It’s an important innovation for the glaucoma treatment community.”

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