Novartis buys Fort Worth eye care firm Encore Vision

Fort Worth-based eye care firm Encore Vision Inc. is being acquired by Swiss drugmaker Novartis, the company announced today.

Encore Vision has developed a topical treatment for presbyopia patients, or people with far-sightedness. It is estimated that more than 80 percent of adults over the age of 45 develop presbyopia.

According to a Novartis news release, the acquisition adds a first-in-class disease modifying topical treatment for presbyopia to the Novartis ophthalmology pipeline. Encore Vision’s product provides “a potentially disruptive innovation to patients in a new therapeutic area of high unmet need and high prevalence.”