B+L to acquire firm for $500m

Bausch+Lomb is to buy allergy therapeutics maker ISTA Pharmaceuticals for $500m in a transaction that has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies. The two businesses already work together and B+L said the combination would accelerate its strategy to strengthen its pipeline and marketed products and capabilities. ISTA's portfolio includes non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory, allergy, glaucoma and spreading agents.

B+L added that ISTA's pipeline was complementary, with treatments for ocular inflammation and pain, while B+L's innovations included the first new class of ocular anti-inflammatory agents in decades and a promising approach to reducing intraocular pressure in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension.