Alcon has acquired Neurotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a company developing cell therapies for chronic and neurodegenerative eye diseases, for $550 million, with additional contingent payments possible upon achievement of commercial milestones.

The acquisition brings Encelto (revakinagene taroretcel-lwey), the first and only U.S. FDA-approved treatment for adults with idiopathic macular telangiectasia type 2 (MacTel), a rare, progressive retinal disease that causes irreversible central vision loss and has historically had no approved treatment options.¹

Encelto is an encapsulated cell therapy intended for surgical intravitreal implantation that continuously releases recombinant human ciliary neurotrophic factor, a protein that helps protect retinal cells and reduce the loss of light-sensing photoreceptors.¹ The FDA granted the therapy priority review and orphan drug designation and approved it under a biologics license application back in March 2025. The treatment is currently available only in the U.S.

“Neurotech’s innovative platform sits at the intersection of cell therapy, pharmaceuticals, and surgery, making it a highly complementary addition to our current capabilities and advancing our vision for the future of retinal disease treatment,” says David Endicott, chief executive officer of Alcon. “By combining Neurotech’s groundbreaking science and established commercial footprint with Alcon’s global reach and clinical expertise, we can help bring this innovation to more patients whose vision is threatened by MacTel.”

Richard Small, chief executive officer of Neurotech Pharmaceuticals, frames the deal as a path to broader patient access. “Alcon’s global scale, commercial capabilities and scientific expertise will expand and facilitate patient access to Encelto, and I’m grateful to the entire Neurotech team, as well as the physicians, investigators, patients, and advocates within the MacTel community whose dedication has made this achievement possible,” he says.

Alcon expects the transaction to be modestly accretive to net sales growth and slightly dilutive to core diluted EPS in 2027, turning accretive thereafter.¹

AI Proteins Enters $400 Million-Plus Collaboration With Astellas

AI Proteins, Inc. has announced a research collaboration and license agreement with Astellas Innovation Management LLC, an affiliate of Astellas Pharma Inc. to discover and develop novel miniprotein-based therapeutics.

As part of the agreement, AI Proteins is eligible to receive more than $400 million in upfront and milestone payments, plus royalties on net sales of any resulting products.² AI Proteins will apply its AI-driven discovery platform to design and optimize de novo miniproteins against multiple targets selected by Astellas, combining precise binding activity with property engineering the company says goes beyond what’s achievable with traditional nature-derived biologics.² Astellas holds an exclusive worldwide license to any therapeutic candidates that emerge and will handle subsequent development, regulatory, and commercialization activities.

“Every biologic medicine on the market today is based on a molecule borrowed from nature that evolved to do something else,” says Chris Bahl, PhD, president, CEO, and founder of AI Proteins. “Designing miniproteins de novo lets us work from the other direction, meaning we specify what a medicine needs to do, then build a molecule from scratch to do precisely that. It’s a shift from repurposing to design, and it puts problems within reach that traditional biologics can’t solve.”

Astellas is positioning the deal within its broader early-stage pipeline strategy. “Our collaboration with AI Proteins reflects our strategic focus on strengthening our early-stage research pipeline through partnerships that provide access to novel biology, differentiated technologies and new therapeutic possibilities,” says Morten Sogaard, senior vice president, Astellas Innovation Lab. “By combining AI Proteins’ advanced de novo protein design capabilities with Astellas’ expertise in translating scientific breakthroughs into innovative medicines, we aim to accelerate the discovery of high-quality therapeutic candidates that can help fuel long-term innovation and support our pipeline-led growth strategy.”

Sources

1. Alcon Acquires Neurotech and ENCELTO, the Only FDA-Approved Treatment for MacTel Type 2 Alcon Inc. October 20, 2026, https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261020151062/en/Alcon-Acquires-Neurotech-and-ENCELTO-the-Only-FDA-Approved-Treatment-for-MacTel-Type-2
2. AI Proteins Announces Research Collaboration and License Agreement With Astellas Pharma to Discover and Develop Novel Miniprotein-Based Therapeutics Valued at Over $400 Million Ai Proteins Inc. October 21, 2026, https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261021073833/en/AI-Proteins-Announces-Research-Collaboration-and-License-Agreement-With-Astellas-Pharma-to-Discover-and-Develop-Novel-Miniprotein-Based-Therapeutics-Valued-at-Over-%24400-Million