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Valeant's eye chart

Valeant's second ophthalmic turnaround play: QLT's Visudyne

October 1, 2012 7:00 AM UTC

With the acquisition of Visudyne verteporfin from QLT Inc. (TSX:QLT; NASDAQ:QLTI), Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (TSX:VRX; NYSE:VRX) is once again betting it can resurrect an ophthalmic drug that had been left by the roadside following approval of Lucentis ranibizumab from Genentech Inc.

Valeant paid $112.5 million up front - 3.5X trailing 12-month sales and royalties - to acquire U.S. rights to Visudyne, as well as the ex-U.S. royalties QLT receives from Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS; SIX:NOVN). QLT is eligible for $20 million in milestones, plus royalties on net sales of any new indications for the wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) drug...