US-based healthcare company Viatris announced plans to acquire Oyster Point Pharma and Famy Life Sciences in two separate deals for a total price in the range of $700-$750m to create an ophthalmology franchise.
Viatris will purchase Oyster Point through a tender offer for $11 per share in cash upfront. Each Oyster Point stockholder will also get one non-tradeable contingent value right, which is worth up to an additional $2 per share if the company meets specific performance metrics during the full year 2022.
Subject to the usual closing requirements, including regulatory approval, and the acceptance of more than 50% of the Oyster Point shares, the deal is expected to close in Q1 2023.
Viatris also expects to acquire Famy Life Sciences, which has a portfolio of ophthalmology candidates. By 2028, the two acquisitions might increase sales by at least $1bn, Viatris said.
Viatris executive chairman Robert Coury said: “Two years into our journey as Viatris, I am extremely pleased with the strength and execution of our business.
“After seven straight quarters of delivering strong results, we are well on our way to completing all Phase 1 commitments and can now turn our focus to setting up for Phase 2 – 2024 and beyond.
“We are pleased to announce this morning our agreements to acquire two high quality businesses to form a new ophthalmology franchise within Viatris.”
Oyster Point owns Tyrvaya, which was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in October 2021 for the treatment of dry eye disease.
On the other hand, Famy Life Sciences is said to have a phase 3-ready pipeline.
Viatris CEO Michael Goettler said: “We’ve been talking about the potential power of our Global Healthcare Gateway since we launched Viatris, that is why I am especially excited that the two ophthalmology acquisitions we announced today came about directly as the result of the Global Healthcare Gateway.
“These acquisitions bring us an innovative growth asset, Tyrvaya, and five additional Phase III or Phase III-ready programs that give us a significant head-start in creating a leading ophthalmology franchise.”
Upon completion of the deals, Viatris’ ophthalmology franchise will operate as a separate unit within the company.
