U.S. judge William Bryson ruled that patents covering Allergan‘s (NYSE:AGN) Restasis medicine are invalid on the grounds of obviousness, driving the company’s shares down more than -6% in afternoon trading today. The decision, made in a Texas federal court, is part of an ongoing case between Allergan and generic drugmakers like Mylan (NSDQ:MYL) and Teva Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:TEVA). Get the full story […]
Optical/Ophthalmic
FDA advisory committee backs Aerie’s Rhopressa eye drug
An FDA advisory committee voted today in favor of Aerie Pharmaceuticals‘ (NSDQ:AERI) Rhopressa product candidate. The dermatologic and ophthalmic drugs advisory committee voted unanimously that clinical trials support the efficacy of Aerie’s netarsudil ophthalmic solution for reducing elevated intraocular pressure in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. Nine members of the committee voted to say […]
Nasdaq halts trading of Aerie stock as FDA reviews Rhopressa NDA
Aerie Pharmaceuticals (NSDQ:AERI) said today that Nasdaq has halted trading of the company’s common stock as an FDA committee convenes to review Aerie’s new drug application for its Rhopressa glaucoma and ocular hypertension drug. The Irvine, Calif.-based company submitted the NDA in February and the FDA is slated to finishing reviewing the application by Feb. 28, 2018. Get the full story […]
Allergan settles Restasis patent challenge after moving patents to Native American tribe
Allergan (NYSE:AGN) said yesterday that it inked a deal with InnoPharma to settle a patent challenge over Allergan’s dry eye drug, Restasis. InnoPharma is one of four companies challenging Allergan’s patents to its eye drop product. The group also includes Mylan (NSDQ:MYL), Teva Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:TEVA) and Akorn Inc. (NSDQ:AKRX) – all of which are challenging the Restasis patents in federal court. Get the full […]
Sight Sciences raises $10m in Series C
Ophthalmic medical device company Sight Sciences said this week it closed a $10 million oversubscribed Series C round to support expanding manufacturing and its US commercial team and the launch of its devices into the dry eye and microinvasive surgery markets. The round was led by Allegro Investment Fund and was joined with full participation from existing […]
7 medtech stories we missed this week: Oct. 6, 2017
From Intellijoint’s CE Mark to Patrona Medical and Kopis’ new partnership, here are seven medtech stories we missed this week but thought were still worth mentioning. 1. Intellijoint CE Mark for flagship hip navigation Intellijoint surgical announced in an Oct. 4 press release that it has received CE Mark for its Intellijoint HIP System in […]
EU launches full-scale probe into $54B Essilor-Luxotica merger
The European Commission plans to investigate whether the €46 billion merger of Luxottica (NYSE:LUX) and Essilor (EPA:EI) could drive competitors away from the market or hike prices, according to Reuters. The companies hold high-ranking positions in the ophthalmic lens and eyewear industries. Earlier this month, Luxottica and Essilor decided not to offer concessions in a preliminary review by antitrust […]
Forsight Vision6 drums up another $3m
The sixth company to come out ophthalmology incubator ForSight Labs said today that it raised $3.0 million from a syndicate of nine unnamed investors. Stealthy ForSight Vision6 revealed the equity round in a regulatory filing today. The company added $3.0 million in December 2014 to the $1 million is raised in 20153 from a lone backer. […]
RightEye raises $7.3 million from VSP Global, angel investors
Eyecare company VSP Global said today that it has made an investment in RightEye and its game-based vision tests. VSP (Rancho Cordova, Calif.) did not disclose the amount it provided RightEye (Bethesda, Md.) in the Series A round. But an SEC Form D that RightEye filed in June shows a roughly $7.3 million money-raise, which a spokesperson for VSP confirmed included […]
Aerie launches Ph3 trial for Roclatan eye drug in Europe
Aerie Pharmaceuticals (NSDQ:AERI) said today that it launched its European Mercury 3 late-stage trial of Roclatan in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. The eye drug is a fixed dose combination of Aerie’s Rhopressa netarsudil ophthalmic solution and a widely-used prostaglandin analogue, latanoprost. The company’s Phase III trial was designed to support regulatory approval and […]
J&J Vision closes TearScience buyout
Johnson & Johnson‘s (NYSE:JNJ) Vision business said today that it closed its acquisition of ophthalmological medical device maker TearScience for an undisclosed amount. Resarch Triangle Park, N.C.-based TearScience produces devices focused on treating meibomian gland dysfunction, a leading underlying cause of dry eye disease, Johnson & Johnson said. The company won FDA clearance for its office-based treatment […]