IRVINE, Calif.—Tarsus Pharmaceuticals announced yesterday that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Alkeus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held retinal disease-focused biotechnology company developing gildeuretinol (ALK-001), an investigational once-daily oral therapy for Stargardt disease. The deal includes an upfront consideration of about $450 million, the companies said, comprising $270 million in cash and $180 million in Tarsus common stock. The pending transaction is expected to close this year, and also includes a milestone of up to $350 million upon potential regulatory approval and first commercial sale. The news was announced along with a strong unaudited financial report that saw total Q2 revenue for Tarsus rise to $173.9 million and first half revenue rise to nearly $336 million.
According to the announcement, the planned acquisition of Alkeus represents what Tarsus said is an important step in its long-term strategy to build a leading eyecare company by bringing differentiated medicines to patients with significant unmet needs. The acquisition is expected to expand Tarsus’ growing presence in retina, complement the capabilities established through the acquisition of iRenix Medical last month, and add a differentiated phase 3 program potentially addressing Stargardt disease.
“From the beginning, our strategy has been to build a leading eyecare company by identifying significant diseases where patients have been starving for innovation and bringing forward medicines with the potential to change the standard of care,” said Bobby Azamian, MD, Ph.D., CEO and chairman of Tarsus. “We believe gildeuretinol has the potential to be a transformational medicine for Stargardt disease and complements the retina capabilities we are already building through IRX-101. We also have tremendous respect for the Alkeus team and the exceptional work they have done to identify and bring forward an optimal asset to potentially address this blinding disease.”
Second Quarter and First Half Reporting
The acquisition announcement came nearly concurrent with strong unaudited second quarter and first half reporting from Tarsus. Net sales of $173.9 million marked more than 69 percent growth versus last year’s Q2 of $102.7 million, with net product sales of XDEMVY (lotilaner ophthalmic solution) 0.25%, a prescription eye drop designed to treat Demodex blepharitis, serving as a primary revenue driver, as well as what the company said was higher volume and improvements in the gross-to-net discount. Total first-half revenue for the company was reported at nearly $336 million (versus $181 million for the same period last year), with $319.3 million attributed to XDEMVY product sales and $16.7 million attributed to license fees and collaborations.
Cost of sales in Q2 were $12.1 million compared with $6.2 million for the same period in 2025, due to manufacturing costs related to Xdemvy, the company said. Research and development expenses totaled $31.0 million compared with $15.6 million for the same period in 2025. Selling, general and administrative expenses were $150.7 million compared with $103.0 million for the same period in 2025.
Net loss in the second quarter narrowed to $18.6 million, compared with $20.3 million for the same period in 2025, the company said. As of June 30, 2026, cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities were $449.7 million. The company also took the further step of increasing 2026 net sales guidance for XDEMVY to $685 million to $705 million.
Related to the pending acquisition, Barclays is acting as exclusive financial advisor to Tarsus and Jefferies is acting as exclusive financial advisor to Alkeus. Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian, LLP is acting as legal counsel to Tarsus, and Latham & Watkins LLP is acting as legal counsel to Alkeus.
