SOPHIA ANTIPOLIS, France— Nicox S.A. (NYSE Euronext Paris: COX), the international ophthalmic company, today announced that Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (NYSE: VRX) has acquired Nicox's U.S. diagnostics subsidiary Nicox Inc., in a deal worth up to $20 million. Under the terms of the agreement, Valeant has acquired Nicox Inc. for $10 million in cash, plus further cash payments of up to $10 million based upon Valeant achieving certain sales targets with the transferred products. The transaction is effective immediately.

Nicox's operations outside the U.S. and its recent acquisition of Aciex are not affected by this transaction. Nicox is retaining a number of U.S.-based commercial and development staff to pursue the specialty therapeutics strategy. Those employees retained by Nicox have transferred to Nicox's new U.S. subsidiary Aciex Therapeutics, Inc., which was acquired in October 2014.

Valeant’s acquisition of Nicox Inc. occurs as the company’s hostile takeover bid to acquire Allergan, Inc. concludes with today’s announcement by Allergan that it is being acquired by Actavis plc (NYSE: ACT) as reported by VMail.

As a result of the Nicox transaction, Valeant is acquiring most of the Nicox commercial infrastructure in the U.S. associated with diagnostics, while Nicox has retained a number of U.S.-based employees focused on therapeutics.

Nicox said it intends to concentrate its commercial and development resources on ophthalmic therapeutics as part of its strategy to build an international ophthalmic company in Europe and in the U.S., the company said in a statement. The decision reflects the significant opportunities available to Nicox in light of the recent acquisition of Aciex and positive phase 3 results for VESNEO.

"We are very proud to have created an emerging and innovative ophthalmic diagnostics business in less than two years on the U.S. market, and to have attracted a prestigious company such as Valeant to build on the momentum that has been created," said Michele Garufi, CEO of Nicox. "The decision to focus on therapeutics is due to several recent and short-to-mid-term opportunities under advanced discussions. This strategic move with our long-standing partner Valeant will enable us to leverage resources for our growing pipeline of advanced drug-candidates."

Nicox has completed four acquisitions in the last 12 months in the ophthalmic space, including well-established businesses in France and Italy and the recently-completed acquisition of Aciex, a private, U.S.-based, ophthalmic pharmaceutical development company with a strong near-term pipeline of therapeutics addressing major segments of the ophthalmic market.