Merck to acquire EyeBio for $3 billion

US drugmaker Merck & Co. (MSD) has agreed to acquire Eyebiotech (EyeBio), a privately held ophthalmology-focused biotechnology company.

Under the terms of the agreement, MSD, through its subsidiaries, will acquire all outstanding shares of EyeBio for up to $3 billion, including an upfront cash payment of $1.3 billion and the potential for an additional $1.7 billion in development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments. The acquisition has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies.

MSD said the acquisition significantly expands the company's presence in ophthalmology in addition to expanding its product pipeline. "We will continue to execute our science-led business development strategy to expand and diversify our pipeline," said Dean Y. Li, president of Merck Research Laboratories. "By combining our strengths, we aim to rigorously advance and accelerate the development of our promising pipeline of drug candidates for retinal diseases," Li added.

EyeBio has a pipeline of clinical and preclinical drug candidates for the prevention and treatment of vision loss associated with retinal vascular leakage, a known risk factor for retinal diseases. The company’s lead candidate, Restoret (EYE103), is an investigational, potentially first-in-class, tetravalent, trispecific antibody that acts as an agonist of the Wingless-related integration site (Wnt) signaling pathway.

Based on positive results from the open-label Phase 1b/2a AMARONE study in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME) and neovascular age-related macular degeneration (NVAMD), Restoret is expected to advance into a pivotal Phase 2b/3 trial in the second half of 2024 to study the treatment of patients with DME, MSD said in a statement.

"As a subsidiary of Merck, EyeBio will be able to leverage the resources and infrastructure needed to support the clinical, regulatory and commercial development of these drug candidates and help bring them to patients around the world," said David R. Guyer, EyeBio's chief executive officer.