Alcon has expanded its portfolio of eye disease products by paying $60 million upfront for the rights to two commercial products based on mucus-penetrating particle drug delivery technology. The sale of the assets extends Kala Pharmaceuticals’ cash runway past phase 2/3 data on another drug candidate.
Kala won FDA approval for one of the drugs, Eysuvis, in 2020, bouncing back from a complete response letter to persuade the agency to authorize the formulation of loteprednol etabonate in the treatment of dry eye disease. The approval came two years after the FDA authorized another loteprednol etabonate formulation, Inveltys, in the treatment of postoperative inflammation and pain after ocular surgery.
Both products are based on the Ampplify drug delivery technology. Using the technology, Kala worked to increase penetration of the corticosteroid loteprednol etabonate into target tissue and thereby enhance the effect of the molecule.
Kala is yet to turn the claimed positive features of the products into commercial success. Sales of the two drugs totaled $1.4 million in the first quarter, down from $3.3 million over the same period of 2021. As was the case last year, Eysuvis was the better selling drug in the first quarter, generating $1 million versus the $0.4 million from Inveltys.
Alcon sees enough promise in the products to pay $60 million upfront to acquire them. The agreement also positions Kala to receive up to four commercial-based sales milestone payments. The milestones start with a $25 million payday if Eysuvis and Inveltys achieve $50 million or more in aggregate global net sales in a calendar year from 2023 to 2028. Alcon will trigger the top, $160 million milestone if annual sales hit $250 million by 2029. Only one milestone payment will be paid per calendar year.
The near-term benefit for Kala is that the deal extends its cash runway into the second quarter of 2024. Importantly, the runway is now expected to last beyond the release of data from a phase 2/3 clinical trial of KPI-012, a candidate Kala is developing to treat persistent corneal epithelial defect.