Acquisitions · Pharma
Santen buys Texas eye-drug company Eyevance for $225 million
- Buyer
- Santen Pharmaceutical (via Santen Holdings U.S.) (Osaka)
- Target
- Eyevance Pharmaceuticals, Fort Worth, Texas
- Value
- $225M
- Status
- Completed at signing on September 17, 2020.
- Date
- 2020-09-17
Santen's US holding company bought all of Eyevance Pharmaceuticals Holdings for $225 million in cash, closing on the same day it signed. Eyevance, founded in 2017, sells eye drops for inflammation, allergies, fungal infections and dry eye. Two products still in development, VISOVANQ and NEXAGON, were excluded from the deal.
Why it matters
Japan's largest eye-drug maker had struggled to build a US business on its own; buying a company with products already on the market gave it a sales base quickly.
About Eyevance
Eyevance was started in Fort Worth, Texas, by Jerry St. Peter and Jason Werner. It bought the TobraDex ST and Natacyn eye drops from Novartis and raised $30 million in 2019. Its national sales team called on ophthalmologists, optometrists and allergists, and it planned to keep its Fort Worth office and staff.
Santen's plan
Santen president Shigeo Taniuchi said the purchase would quickly give Santen a business base in the US and speed up its global rollout. Santen said the effect on its earnings would be minor.
Sources
Kakehashi M&A News home
