After Trial Setback, Ista Continues Diversification Bid
Cooper Cos. Lands $225M Credit Deal; Edwards Sees Repair System Put to Test
HEALTHCARE
by Vita Reed
Irvine eye drug maker Ista Pharmaceuticals Inc. is pressing on with a bid to diversify.
Last week, the company struck a deal with AcSentient Inc. of Research Triangle Park, N.C., for rights to three late-stage products.
Under the deal, Ista is getting just about all the assets of AcSentient, including U.S. product rights to bromfenac, a topical anti-inflammatory compound for ocular inflammations. It also is getting U.S. marketing rights for a new formulation of timolol, a beta-blocking agent for treating glaucoma. The third product for which Ista is gaining marketing rights to is Caprogel, a compound for the treatment of hyphema, or bleeding into the front of the eye.
AcSentient previously acquired rights to these compounds from Japan’s Senju Pharmaceutical Co. and the Eastern Virginia School of Medicine.
Ista said it anticipates submitting a new drug application to the Food and Drug Administration for bromfenac following completion of a single Phase III clinical trial for the compound in the U.S., according to Chief Executive Vicente Anido Jr. Bronfenac was launched by Senju in Japan in 2000 and has already undergone clinical trials in that country.
As for timolol, Ista said clinical trials have shown that its efficacy and safety are similar to timolol maleate, the leading form of beta-blocker. Merck & Co. and Bausch & Lomb Inc. are among the companies that produce branded and generic forms of timolol maleate.
Figures show that the global drug market for the treatment of glaucoma exceeds $1.2 billion a year, with the U.S. representing some 50% of the market.
As for the global ophthalmic anti-inflammatory and allergies markets, Ista estimates those to be about $500 million and $630 million, respectively.
The drugs that Ista develops are based on an enzyme called hyalurodinase and are intended to save and improve eyesight. The company hopes to go after conditions such as vitreous hemorrhage, diabetic retinopathy, corneal opacification and keratoconus, or corneal thinning.
The deal represents a step in Ista’s goal to become a specialty pharmaceutical company, Anido said in a release. Anido, a former executive at Irvine-based Allergan Inc. and venture capitalist, was brought in as part of Ista’s strategy change from a research company to one that sells products as well.
Ista suffered a setback in March after its Vitrase compound for treating vitreous hemorrhage, or internal bleeding of the eye, failed to meet its main goal during clinical testing on patients.
Credit for Cooper Cos.
Cooper Cos., Lake Forest, recently struck a $225 million credit deal including a $75 million, five-year loan and a $150 million revolving credit line.
Cleveland-based KeyBank, part of KeyCorp, is the agent for the syndicated credit facility, which is made up of 11 banks.
Officials of the vision and women’s healthcare company said they plan to use the credit for general corporate purposes and capital expenditures.
Among other things, Cooper said it would pay off $62 million under its existing line of credit and about $65 million in notes owed to Britain’s Biocompatibles PLC that resulted from Cooper’s buy earlier this year of Biocompatibles’ eye care business.
Cooper also said it plans to use some $21 million to retire loans due to note holders of Aspect Vision Care Ltd., a contact lens business Cooper purchased in 1997.
In other Cooper news, Chief Executive A. Thomas Bender recently took part in a healthcare conference sponsored by Deutsche Bank Securities in Baltimore.
Edwards Unveils Valve Repair Kit
Irvine-based Edwards Lifesciences, last week formally launched its Edwards MC3 Tricuspid Annuloplasty system to surgically repair the heart’s tricuspid valve. Edwards launched the MC3 system during the annual meeting of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery in Washington, D.C.
Edwards received Food and Drug Administration clearance for MC3 last month. The first surgical procedure using the system was done at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation on a patient suffering from a condition called tricuspid regurgitation.
Tricuspid regurgitation is a disorder that involves backflow of blood from the right ventricle to the right atrium during contraction of the right ventricle.
Damage to the tricuspid valve or enlargement of the right ventricle causes the disorder.
Bits and Pieces:
Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, Newport Beach, said it signed a contract with Comforce Healthcare of Orange County, Irvine, to provide temporary nurses and other medical professionals. The deal is valued at some $11 million. Comforce’s OC office, which is a unit of Comforce Corp., Woodbury, N.Y., said it would provide nurses, laboratory and X-ray technicians and administrators to Hoag Melinda Beswick, chief executive of Anaheim Memorial Medical Center was among the recent nominees for the Business Journal’s 2002 Women in Business awards. Beswick also is chair for the hospital council of the Healthcare Association of Southern California.
