Avedro Inks Deal to Buy the Competition

Avedro Inc., an ophthalmic medical device and pharmaceutical company based in Waltham, Mass., has purchased one of its competitors—IROC Innocross AG, of Zug, Switzerland. treatihg corneal conditions.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Avedro is a privately held company that makes technology for corneal crosslinking and refractive correction. The KXL system, in combination with its pharmaceuticals, is used to treat keratoconus and corneal ectasia.

Keratoconus is a degenerative disorder of the eye in which structural changes within the cornea cause it to thin and change to a more conical shape. The condition can cause substantial distortion of vision, with multiple images, streaking and sensitivity to light. Corneal ectasia is related to the condition of Keratoconus.

The technology is approved in Europe, but has not yet gotten U.S. Food and Drug Administration OK in the United States.
IROC Innocross was the first company to commercialize a crosslinking device for the treatment of keratoconus and other corneal pathologies. To date, IROC Innocross has sold its UV-X devices to more than 1,000 ophthalmologists giving it the largest installed base of crosslinking devices in the world, according to a release from Avedro.

With this acquisition, Avedro’s platform of crosslinking technology spans the entire spectrum of corneal crosslinking procedures, company officials claim.

“I am extremely pleased to have completed this important acquisition for Avedro. Under the direction of its founder, Prof. Michael Mrochen, IROC Innocross has firmly established the value of its UV-X devices,” said David Muller, Ph.D., CEO of Avedro. “We look forward to immediately increasing our MedioCROSS riboflavin revenue through access to the established base of UV-X users and to further increasing device and riboflavin revenue by expanding sales of UV-X devices in all the markets we serve.”

Muller said the acquisition gives his company “the largest installed base of cross-linking devices in the world” to drive its single-dose riboflavin revenue.

“We have now become the only crosslinking company to address the entire market for corneal cross-linking procedures across all price points, allowing our seasoned distribution network to aggressively compete for and win the business of any ophthalmologist in the crosslinking space,” he said.

Avedro will continue to work with key IROC Innocross suppliers MDP Solutions in Switzerland and Solnovis in Germany to ensure product supply and development.

“I’m convinced that by combining the IROC Innocross assets with Avedro’s outstanding scientific and commercial resources, Avedro will accelerate the development and commercialization of new drugs and devices, increasing Avedro’s overall business in a dramatically expanding corneal cross-linking market,” Mrochen said. “I very much look forward to joining Avedro’s medical advisory board and continuing to contribute to the science and technology of corneal cros-linking along with the Avedro team as we pursue the development of new and exciting applications in the treatment of refractive errors of the eye.”

Avedro distributes its products in 62 countries through 33 ophthalmic distributors. Avedro products that have received CE mark include: the KXL System for performing Lasik Xtra and accelerated crosslinking; the KXL II System for performing photorefractive Intrastromal crosslinking, which has the potential to deliver non-surgical correction of myopia and improve cataract surgery outcomes; and the Avedro family of proprietary single-dose pharmaceutical formulations. Avedro’s KXL System and single-dose pharmaceutical products are currently being used in three Phase III U.S. clinical trials involving more than 100 U.S. clinical sites.