Merck has completed its purchase of clinical biotech company EyeBiotech Limited (EyeBio), paying approximately $1.3 billion cash upfront to expand its ophthalmology pipeline. The total deal could be valued at up to $3 billion. EyeBio becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Merck, which intends to leverage EyeBio’s expertise in retinal disease treatment.

EyeBio was founded in August 2021 by David Guyer, MD, Tony Adamis, MD, and SV Health Investors. It has operations in the United States and the United Kingdom. EyeBio’s lead candidate, Restoret (EYE103), is an investigational tri-specific Wnt agonist antibody designed to address urgent unmet medical need in patients with back-of-the-eye diseases, according to the company. The drug has shown promise in trials for diabetic macular edema and neovascular age-related macular degeneration, and is scheduled to advance to a phase 2b/3 trial in late 2024.

“The EyeBio acquisition further diversifies our late-stage pipeline with the addition of a promising candidate based on novel biology and genetics for the treatment of certain retinal diseases,” said Dr. Dean Y. Li, president, Merck Research Laboratories, in a press release. “We are excited to welcome the EyeBio team and look forward to working together to advance Restoret for the patients that need it.”

“The EyeBio team has successfully assembled a pipeline of novel candidates with the potential to provide new treatment options for patients with retinal disease,” said Dr. Guyer, chief executive officer and president of EyeBio. “As a subsidiary of Merck, EyeBio will be positioned to tap into the resources and infrastructure needed to support the clinical, regulatory and commercial development of these candidates and help bring them to patients worldwide.”