Allergan Acquires Rights To LiRIS From TARIS Biomedical
By Lori Clapper
Allergan, a multispecialty health care company, announced last week that it paid $67.5 million to TARIS Biomedical for the rights to LiRIS, a treatment for interstitial cystitis / bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) that is currently in Phase 2 trials.
As part of the agreement, Allergan will also pay up to $295 million in development milestone payments and up to $225 million in commercial milestone payments. Up to this point, TARIS spun out pipeline programs and intellectual property related to TARIS' platform technology, to a new company funded by TARIS shareholders, according to the combined announcement.
LiRIS incorporates TARIS proprietary technology, which was designed to continuously deliver lidocaine directly to the bladder of a patient with IC/BPS, relieving the painful and often debilitating symptoms associated with this disease. According to Allergan, “IC/BPS is a complex bladder disease associated with significant bladder pain and disability, including in some patients lesions in the bladder, so-called Hunner's lesions.” In many cases, the condition dramatically impacts quality of life, including loss of work and reduced personal relationships and intimacy.
Allergan has been working to grow its urology pipeline, including BOTOX, which is in development as a second-line treatment for overactive bladder.
"The acquisition of LiRIS is an important addition to our growing urology pipeline and, if approved, will provide a local treatment for interstitial cystitis / bladder pain syndrome, which is a debilitating bladder condition," David E.I. Pyott, chairman of the board and CEO, Allergan, said.
Purnanand Sarma, Ph.D., President, and CEO of TARIS added that they are confident that Allergan will extend the reach of LiRIS due to its expertise in drug delivery technologies, specialty product development, and commercialization in the urology market.
“Building on the success of LiRIS so far, we will now be able to focus our efforts on developing a rich pipeline of applications of our technology, including new treatments for bladder cancer and other areas of unmet need in urology," he said.