Sun Pharma to acquire InSite Vision and its ophthalmic products

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. has announced that one of its subsidiaries has entered into an agreement and plan of merger under which it has offered to acquire InSite Vision. InSite Vision focuses on developing new specialty ophthalmic products, including three late stage programmes. Sun Pharma is in the process of establishing a branded ophthalmic business in the USA. This proposed acquisition of InSite Vision, coupled with the recent in-licensing of Xelpros (latanoprost BAK-free eye drops) in June 2015, are steps in this direction. These deals give Sun Pharma access to four late stage branded ophthalmic products in the US.

InSite Vision has developed the DuraSite and DuraSite2 drug delivery platforms which are capable of extending the duration of drug retention, thus resulting in lower dosing frequency. Based on this technology, InSite Vision has developed a pipeline of late-stage clinical candidates, and has recently filed a New Drug Application (NDA) with the FDA for BromSite (0.075% bromfenac) for the treatment of inflammation and prevention of pain associated with cataract surgery. It plans to file another NDA in 2017 for DexaSite (0.1% dexamethasone) for the treatment of non-bacterial blepharitis, a common ocular condition for which there is no approved product currently available. Its AzaSite Plus is currently in Phase III clinical development for the treatment of eye infections, and ISV-101 is in Phase I/II clinical development for dry-eye disease and inflammation. InSite Vision also has two commercialised products based on its DuraSite platform approved for the treatment of bacterial eye infections, AzaSite (azithromycin ophthalmic solution) 1%, and Besivance (besifloxacin ophthalmic suspension) 0.6%.