NASHVILLE, TN — Harrow Health Inc., an ophthalmic‑focused healthcare company, has acquired exclusive U.S. commercialization rights of four FDA-approved ophthalmic medicines.
Harrow bought the rights from Novartis for $14 million.
The medicines are Iopidine 1% and 0.5% (apraclonidine hydrochloride), Maxitrol 0.1% (neomycin and polymyxin B sulfate and dexamethasone) and Moxeza 0.5% (moxifloxacin hydrochloride). The products will be sold through Harrow’s wholly owned subsidiary ImprimisRx.
After closing, Harrow and Novartis will immediately begin a transition period where Novartis will continue to sell the products and transfer the net profit to Harrow. Following the transition period, Harrow expects to have the products manufactured by third parties and commercialize the products for the U.S. market, while Novartis will retain all rights to the products outside of the U.S.
“FDA-approved IOPIDINE 1% is the gold standard for treating or preventing intraocular pressure during and after YAG laser eye surgery, which is required for about 40% of all prior cataract surgery patients,” said William F. Wiley, MD, medical director of the Cleveland Eye Clinic. “IOPIDINE 0.5% has been trusted by physicians for many years. As a private practice clinic, we have found that these important medicines aren’t readily available from our distributors. Harrow and ImprimisRx will change that.
“Our practice typically prescribes ImprimisRx’s compounded LessDrops formulations, but despite our best efforts to control costs, not all patients can afford cash-pay products, and a growing number of patients want to use their Medicare and Medicaid benefits. For some of these patients, we prescribe MAXITROL, because of its wide insurance coverage and long history of success. Also, MOXEZA, which has broad spectrum microbial coverage and is a fourth generation fluoroquinolone, is the only topical in its class that is approved for twice‑daily (BID) use. It’s exciting to know that ImprimisRx will soon be making these branded products widely available, which will provide doctor and patient access to the most appropriate pharmaceutical option – all from a single, easy‑to‑use, and trusted source.”
Mark L. Baum, CEO of Harrow Health, said, “We are pleased to now be the only U.S. ophthalmic pharmaceutical company to provide both branded FDA-approved products and high-quality compounded formulations. In addition, we uniquely have self-distribution capabilities, direct to institutions like hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, and doctors’ offices, as well as to consumers through our ImprimisRx 50-state mail order pharmacy. These acquisitions, along with previously announced transactions for AMP-100, MAQ-100, and the expansion of our relationship to sell and market DEXYCU, are consistent with our strategic mission to leverage the ImprimisRx commercial platform by adding high-value FDA‑approved products into our family of ophthalmic pharmaceutical products. We are excited about the benefits these newest products provide our more than 10,000 customers, and we expect ImprimisRx’s commercial and distribution platform to be a tremendous advantage in the lifecycle management of these clinically valuable medicines.”