Alcon Completes Acquisition of Aerie Pharmaceuticals

Alcon has completed its acquisition of Aerie Pharmaceuticals. In August, Alcon announced its was acquiring Aerie for about $770 million, or $15.25 per share—a premium of 37% to Aerie’s closing price prior to the deal. The deal bolsters Alcon's glaucoma portolio and expands its pharmaceutical offerings. The transaction expands Alcon's glaucoma portolio and boosts its pharmaceutical offerings.

“As we welcome the Aerie team to Alcon, we look forward to leveraging our expanding commercial footprint and expertise to bring Rocklatan and Rhopressa to even more customers and their patients,” said David Endicott, CEO of Alcon. “Alcon has a rich history in the ophthalmic pharmaceutical space rooted in a deep understanding of eye care professionals. We are excited to add Aerie’s significant technical expertise to Alcon R&D, which enhances our efforts to build a compelling portfolio of ophthalmic pharmaceuticals.”

Through the acquisition, Alcon gained access to the commercially available drugs Rhopressa (netarsudil ophthalmic solution) 0.02% and Rocklatan (netarsudil and latanoprost ophthalmic solution) 0.02%, as well as the phase 3 dry eye disease product candidate AR-15512.

According to a news release from Alcon, the company has also acquired a pipeline of potential ophthalmic pharmaceutical product candidates with the chance to make use of Aerie's current research and development resources.

In addition to acquiring exclusive U.S. commercialization rights for Simbrinza from Novartis in April 2021 and Eysuvis and Inveltys from Kala Pharmaceuticals in May 2022, the purchase completes Alcon's entry into the ophthalmic pharmaceutical market.

Alcon plans to incorporate Aerie completely into its operations. As previously stated, the company has used debt to fund the transaction for a total purchase consideration of approximately $930 million.