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QLT completes acquisition of Forsight Newco II Inc.

Article

Vancouver, British Columbia-QLT Inc. has acquired privately held ForSight Newco II Inc. of Menlo Park, CA, a spin-out company of ForSight Labs LLC.

Vancouver, British Columbia

-QLT Inc. has acquired privately held ForSight Newco II Inc. of Menlo Park, CA, a spin-out company of ForSight Labs LLC. ForSight Newco II now is a wholly owned subsidiary of QLT.

The acquisition gives QLT the rights to commercialize ForSight Newco II’s proprietary ocular punctal plug drug-delivery system and lead and fund future development efforts involving the technology. QLT plans to initiate a phase I/II clinical trial using the system to treat glaucoma in the first half of next year.

“We are excited to add this proprietary punctal plug technology to our ocular pipeline and build on our strengths and expertise in ophthalmology,” said Bob Butchofsky, president and chief executive officer of QLT.

QLT believes that the non-invasive punctal plugs will be capable of delivering a variety of drugs to the eye over time through sustained release to the tear film, according to a press release issued by the company. Also, QLT maintains that the plugs could improve patient adherence to therapy and replace eye drops for the treatment of glaucoma, dry eye, and allergies, as well as for postoperative care, all of which represent a $6 billion market.

Under the previously announced terms of the agreement, QLT was to acquire all outstanding shares of ForSight Newco II for $42 million, along with future milestone payments and royalties on net sales of products. The milestone payments consist of a one-time, $5 million payment on initiation of a phase III clinical trial for the first product, $20 million on first commercialization of each of the first two products, and $15 million on first commercialization of each subsequent product.

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