Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company (SPARC) and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries today announced that SPARC has licensed out XelprosTM (Latanoprost BAK-free eye drops) to a subsidiary of Sun Pharma for the US market.

In addition to up-front payment of USD 3 million, SPARC will receive certain other milestone payments, both totaling to USD16 million from Sun Pharma. It is also eligible for certain defined royalties and additional milestone payments linked to the actual sales performance of XelprosTM.

In December 2014, the US FDA had issued a Complete Response letter (CRL) to SPARC for its New Drug Application (NDA) for Latanoprost BAK-free eye drops. This CRL has since been replied to and a response from the US FDA is awaited.

Anil Raghavan, CEO, SPARC said, ''SPARC is excited at this licensing deal for XelprosTM because it allows us to commercialize the first-class science we've been doing at our research labs. XelprosTM is a much safer product that greatly improves the standards of glaucoma care.''

Commenting on the in-licensing, Kirti Ganorkar, senior vice president, Business Development, Sun Pharma said, ''The in-licensing of XelprosTM will facilitate Sun Pharma’s entry into the branded Ophthalmology segment in the US. This is a part of Sun Pharma’s strategy to strengthen its presence in the US specialty segment.''

Sun Pharma has recently appointed Jerry St. Peter as vice president and head, Ophthalmology for Sun Pharma's US business. Jerry has a successful commercial and general management track-record in specialty pharmaceutical companies with an extensive knowledge of the Ophthalmology market. He will lead Sun's Ophthalmic business in the US and will commercialize XelprosTM.

Shares of the company declined Rs 17.05, or 2.05%, to settle at Rs 812.75. The total volume of shares traded was 531,333 at the BSE (Tuesday).