Allergan to acquire Oculeve for $125 million upfront

In a second deal within a matter of weeks, Ireland-incorporated Allergan (NYSE: AGN) has entered into an agreement under which it will acquire USA-based Oculeve, a development-stage medical device company focused on developing novel treatments for dry eye disease, in an all-cash transaction.

Under the terms of the agreement, Allergan (the new name for Actavis, which acquired Allergan earlier this year) will acquire Oculeve for a $125 million upfront payment and commercialization milestone payments related to Oculeve's lead development program OD-01. The agreement also includes the acquisition of an additional earlier-stage dry eye device development program.

This deal follows swiftly on Allergan’s announcement last month of a $2.1 billion bid, 80% of which in cash, for KYTHERA Biopharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: KYTH; The Pharma Letter June 17).