Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company (SPARC) has licensed out Xelpros, a preservative-free eye drop, to a subsidiary of Sun Pharma for the US market.
In addition to up-front payment of USD 3 million, SPARC will receive certain other milestone payments, both totaling to USD 16 million from Sun Pharma, Sun Pharma and SPARC said in a joint statement today.
"It is also eligible for certain defined royalties and additional milestone payments linked to the actual sales performance of Xelpros," the statement said.
SPARC CEO Anil Raghavan said that Xelpros is a "much safer product that greatly improves" the standards of glaucoma care.
Commenting on the in-licensing, Kirti Ganorkar, Senior Vice President, Business Development, Sun Pharma said: "The in-licensing of Xelpros will facilitate Sun Pharma's entry into the branded Ophthalmology segment in the US. This is a part of Sun Pharma's strategy to strengthen its presence in the US specialty segment."
Latanoprost BAK-free is a preservative-free, once-a-day formulation of the glaucoma medication Latanoprost "using SPARC's novel Swollen Micelle Microemulsion (SMM) technology".
SPARC is an international pharmaceutical company engaged in research and development of drugs and delivery systems.
Sun Pharma is the world's fifth largest specialty generic pharmaceutical company and India's top pharmaceutical company.
