Acquisition price at 22 premium to Iveric39;s last close
Iveric developing macular degeneration treatment
Astellas shares rise 2.2

May 1 Reuters Japan39;s Astellas Pharma said on Monday it agreed to buy U.S. drugmaker Iveric Bio Inc for about 5.9 billion in its biggest acquisition, giving it access to a range of ophthalmology treatments.

The deal marks the fifth major overseas acquisition by Astellas, Japan39;s third biggest drugmaker by sales, since 2019 in a push to shore up its pipeline as its main sellers lose patent protection.

It is the secondlargest crossborder acquisition for a Japanese drugmaker in the past five years, according to Refinitiv data, following Takeda Pharmaceutical Co39;s 6 billion purchase of Nimbus Therapeutics39; psoriasis drug unit announced in December.

And it comes on the heels of Kirin Holdings Co Ltd saying it would buy Australian vitamin maker Blackmores Ltd for 1.2 billion.

New Jerseybased Iveric, formerly branded as Ophthotech, is focused on developing treatments for retinal diseases, which fits with Astellas39; focus on blindness and regeneration therapies.

The Iveric deal gives it drug candidates to treat some 160 million people worldwide suffering from eye ailments, particularly in its home market of Japan which has one of the world39;s fastest aging populations.

Iveric39;s key asset is avacincaptad pegol ACP, currently in trials for treating geographic atrophy, the advanced stage of macular degeneration, a common cause of…