MUMBAI, India—Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (Reuters: SUN.BO) announced that it is acquiring Ocular Technologies, Sarl (OTS), a portfolio company of Auven Therapeutics, an international private equity company focused on accelerated development of breakthrough therapeutic drugs.

OTS owns exclusive, worldwide rights to Seciera its proprietary novel formulation of cyclosporine for dry eye disease. Sun Pharma said it will pay Auven $40 million upfront, plus contingent development milestones and sales milestones as well as tiered royalty on Seciera sales. Seciera is currently in a Phase-3 confirmatory clinical trial for the treatment of dry eye disease, which affects approximately 16 million people in the U.S. alone, according to Sun Pharma.

“This potential acquisition signifies continued momentum in enhancing our global branded specialty portfolio,” commented Dilip Shanghvi, managing director, Sun Pharma. “Coupled with our existing pipeline consisting of BromSite, DexaSite and Xelpros, this initiative will enable Sun Pharma to significantly expand its ophthalmic presence and reach millions of patients globally.”

“This is an important milestone for us” said Jerry St. Peter, vice president and Head, Sun Ophthalmics. “As a specialty business dedicated solely to the needs of eyecare practitioners and their patients, Sun Ophthalmics is excited at the potential to expand our existing portfolio. We hope to bring Seciera to ophthalmologists and optometrists globally and participate in a dynamic market that is estimated to reach almost $5 billion worldwide by 2020.”

The transaction is subject to approval of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission as required under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act and other closing conditions, and is expected to be completed by the end of 2016.