Allergan buys assets of gene therapy company RetroSense for $60m
Pharmaceutical group Allergan has acquired almost all the assets of privately-held biotechnology company RetroSense for $60m upfront.
Allergan Inc.
$240.22
11:00 06/04/15
Under the terms of the deal, Allergan has also agreed to potential regulatory and commercialisation milestone payments related to its lead development programme, RST-001, which is a novel gene therapy for the potential treatment of retinitis pigmentosa (RP).
Allergan’s chief executive officer and president Brent Saunders said: "The acquisition of RetroSense and its RST-001 program builds on Allergan's deep commitment to eye care, and our focus on investing in game-changing innovation for retinal conditions, including retinitis pigmentosa, where patients desperately need treatment options.”
RP is a group of rare, inherited genetic disorders characterised by progressive peripheral vision loss and night vision difficulties followed by eventual central vision loss and blindness in many cases.
Allergan’s chief research and development officer, David Nicholson, said: "The RST-001 program and its optogenetic gene therapy approach could be a real breakthrough in the treatment of unmet needs across a host of retinal conditions, including RP.
“The team at Allergan is excited by the prospect of advancing an entirely new approach in the treatment of retinal diseases, and this technology is highly complementary to our ongoing development programs in this critical treatment area."
Allegan shares were up 0.1% to $235.96 in pre-market trade.