Merck to buy eye-focused drug developer EyeBio for as much as $3 billion

[May 29, 2024]  (Reuters) - Merck on Wednesday agreed to acquire privately held biotech EyeBio for as much as $3 billion, the latest in a string of deals by the US drugmaker to bolster its future growth.

It agreed to pay $1.3 billion in cash and another $1.7 billion in future milestone-based payments for EyeBio, and will gain access to its retinal disease drug Restoret as part of the deal.

Merck said in February it was in the market for deals of up to $15 billion, and has already struck two major deals this year, as its blockbuster cancer immunotherapy Keytruda is set to lose exclusivity by the end of the decade.

London-based EyeBio, which operates as Eyebiotech Ltd, has operations in the United States and the UK.

EyeBio was founded by SV Health Investors, which is backed by Kate Bingham, the former head of the UK's COVID-19 vaccine taskforce.

EyeBio is testing its experimental therapy Restoret in early-stage trials for retinal diseases characterized by abnormalities in blood vessels that can lead to impaired vision.

Signage is seen at the Merck & Co. headquarters in Kenilworth, New Jersey, U.S., November 13, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo

The company also recently completed early-stage testing of the drug for diabetic macular edema, a type of swelling in the eye, and is expected to enter a mid-stage trial for the disease in the second half of 2024.

The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2024.

(Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Shinjini Ganguli)

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