Alcon to acquire ESBATech AG

Alcon has revealed plans to acquire the Swiss biotechnology company ESBATech AG as it aims to increase its presence in the eye care market.

The move will also see Alcon gain access to proprietary fragment technology ideal for treating eye diseases, as well as establish a sustainable platform for biologics development in the future.

Under the agreement, the current shareholders of ESBATech will retain the right to non-ophthalmic technology and related key products.

Sabri Markabi, chief medical officer and senior vice-president of research and development of Alcon, said: “Biotechnology offers significant growth opportunities in ophthalmology because it has the potential to deliver therapies with superior efficacy and safety relative to existing approaches.”

This news comes after Alcon announced in June that it had entered into a five-year deal with AstraZeneca which will see the pair work together on eye drug development.

The deal involves Alcon gaining exclusive ophthalmic discovery and potential development rights to AstraZeneca’s compound library.