Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced the signing of an agreement for the acquisition of Avizorex Pharma, S.L. in a press release Monday.

Aerie will acquire AVX Pharma in an all-cash transaction, with an upfront payment of $10 million. AVX Pharma shareholders will be eligible to receive additional payments subject to the achievement of certain clinical and regulatory performance milestones, and royalties on net sales of approved products from the company’s development pipeline.

AVX Pharma is a Spanish ophthalmic pharmaceutical company that develops therapeutics for treating dry eye diseases.

The company completed a Phase 2a study in dry eye subjects earlier this year with product candidate AVX-012. The medication is a cold and osmolarity sensor that regulates wetness and blink rate. Aerie is planning to initiate a larger Phase 2b study in late 2020 after positive results from AVX’s Phase 2a study.

“This acquisition bolsters our pipeline with a clinical-stage dry eye product candidate, and we are excited to expand our footprint in ophthalmology,” said Vicente Anido, CEO of Aerie. “The product has a novel mechanism-of-action for treating dry eye and we believe that, if approved, it could nicely complement the currently approved drugs for this indication.”

Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an ophthalmic pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for the treatment of patients with open-angle glaucoma, retinal disease and other eye diseases. The company’s shares were trading at $19.03 on Monday, up 10 cents.