Novartis is buying dry-eye drug Xiidra from Takeda Pharmaceutical Co for up to $5.3 billion. The deal calls for $3.4 billion up front and milestone payments up to $1.9 billion, Novartis said.
The acquisition from Takeda, which is selling off medicine to reduce its debt, adds to several big Novartis transactions over the last year as the Swiss-based company continues to ramp up its portfolio and get rid of non-core assets to focus on prescription drugs.