Novartis AG agreed to sell part of its portfolio of eye medicines to Bausch + Lomb Corp. in a deal worth as much as $2.5 billion as the Swiss pharma company focuses on developing new and more lucrative drugs.
The transaction consists of $1.75 billion in upfront cash and additional milestone payments, according to a statement Friday. It includes Xiidra, a prescription medicine for dry eye disease, that generated $487 million in sales last year.
Under Chief Executive Officer Vas Narasimhan, Novartis has helped lead an industry-wide push to hive off low-growth businesses. It spun off its eye-care unit Alcon in 2019 and is in the process of doing the same with Sandoz, its generic-drugs business.
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