Fera Pharmaceutical sells assets to refocus

A Locust Valley pharmaceutical company plans to refocus its business after selling nearly all of its assets.

Fera Pharmaceutical, which acquires, develops and markets prescription eye-care medication, sold nine out of the 10 products in its portfolio in a $93-million cash transaction to Allegan, Mich.-based Perrigo Co., the two businesses announced Monday.

Fera co-founder Frank DellaFera said in an email Tuesday that the company has reached a "milestone" through the sale and will now "explore other acquisition candidates in other specialty pharmaceutical markets such as hospital-based therapies, as well as generic alternatives to niche brands."

Perrigo, a publicly traded company with a stock market value of about $11.4 billion, could pay an additional $36 million to Fera if it acquires more product rights, Perrigo said in a news release. Fera was founded in 2009 after it acquired the rights to seven eye-care ointments. It employs 35 people, 12 of whom work out of its Long Island headquarters.