Novartis is buying US start-up leader in presbyopia’s treatment

Novartis, the Swiss pharmaceutical giant that owns Alcon, is buying Encore Vision, a privately-held company in Fort Worth, Texas, USA, focused on the development of a novel treatment in presbyopia. 

Novartis said Tuesday that the acquisition would add a “first-in-class” treatment to its ophthalmology pipeline, “providing a potentially disruptive innovation to patients in a new therapeutic area of high unmet need and high prevalence.” Terms were not disclosed.

Presbyopia is a hardening of the eye lens experienced by about 80 percent of people over the age of 45, which results in loss of near-distance vision and the need for reading glasses. Encore’s EV06 eye drop, which softens the lens, has shown positive results in phase I/II clinical trials.

In a statement, Vasant Narasimhan, global head of drug development and chief medical officer at Novartis, said the large need for such a drug drew the attention of Novartis. “There is currently no disease-modifying treatment available at all,” Narasimhan said. “Novartis confirms its leadership in ophthalmology by entering another new therapy area.”