Alcon Adds Biologics With EsbaTech Buy

Seeking to add biologics drug development capabilities to its portfolio, Alcon has agreed to acquire EsbaTech, a Swiss biotech firm with single-chain antibody fragment technology. EsbaTech shareholders will receive $150 million in cash when the deal closes and could rake in an additional $439 million with the clinical development of antibody fragments in EsbaTech’s pipeline. Although other biologics on the market or in development for ophthalmic indications must be injected into the eye, EsbaTech has demonstrated that its antibody fragments can be delivered with an eyedropper. Previous shareholders of ElbaTech will retain the technology and products for indications outside ophthalmology and will spin these off into a new company, Delenex Therapeutics.