Shire in $300m Foresight acquisition
pharmafile | August 4, 2015 | News story | Manufacturing and Production, Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | FST-100, Foresight Biotherapeutics, Shire, conjunctivitis, dry eye, lifitegrast, pink eye
Shire has acquired Foresight Biotherapeutics for $300 million, as it looks to build its presence in eye diseases.
The acquisition gains Shire the global rights to FST-100 (povidone iodine and dexamethasone), a therapy in late-stage development for the treatment of infectious conjunctivitis, commonly referred to as ‘pink eye’. If approved the FST-100 eye drops would be the first to treat both bacterial and viral eye infections.
With this acquisition, Shire aims to further strengthen its position in opthalmics, as well as complement its late-stage pipeline. The new rights it has acquired along with the Foresight purchase have a clear strategic fit with Shire’s own lifitegrast, which is in late-stage development for treatment of dry eye disease and under consideration by the FDA.
Shire established its ophthalmics business unit in May 2014, and since then has grown and acquired SARcode Bioscience, Premacure AB, and BIKAM Pharmaceuticals.
Dr Flemming Ornskov, Shire chief executive, comments: “With the acquisition of Foresight Biotherapeutics, Shire demonstrates its commitment to eye care while advancing its strategy of addressing high unmet medical need through transformative treatments for rare diseases and specialty medicines.
“Ophthalmics is a highly attractive growth area for Shire and this acquisition allows us to strengthen our presence in this therapeutic area. It is highly synergistic with the planned lifitegrast commercial structure. FST-100 and lifitegrast, if approved, would address two of the leading reasons people seek eye care treatment.”
Dr Michael Weiser, direct of Foresight Biotherapeutics, adds: “We’re excited about the potential benefits of FST-100 for patients and the physicians who care for them. In our discussions with experts in the field, we’ve heard their enthusiasm for the possibility of a treatment that could reduce inflammation while killing virus and bacteria without the risk of unnecessary antibiotic use. We’re pleased that Shire has committed to moving this program forward in development, so FST-100 might become an important treatment option for patients with either viral or bacterial conjunctivitis.”
While Dr Edward Holland, who is director of cornea services at the Cincinnati Eye Institute and professor of ophthalmology at the University of Cincinnati, comments: “As a researcher and clinician, I know first-hand the significant unmet patient need for an effective treatment for infectious conjunctivitis, as well as the challenges associated with treating this condition, so I’m excited about the potential of FST-100.”
Joel Levy
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