New leading international life science investors join current institutional investors with proceeds to:
- Advance novel, late-stage Investigational ophthalmology drugs OCS-01 and OCS-02 and deliver the first topical drug for retinal edema.
- Expand Oculis pipeline of innovative ophthalmology candidates targeting major unmet needs.
- Execute the Company’s international strategy to become a global ophthalmology player.
Oculis S.A., (Oculis) a late-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing transformative ophthalmic treatments to improve the sight and lives of patients, announced that it has closed an oversubscribed US$57 million Series C financing. The round was co-led by new investors BVCF Management and Hyfinity Investments, with VI Partners and Wille AG joining the company’s existing investors, Bay City Capital, Brunnur Ventures, EarlyBird, funds managed by Tekla Capital Management, Pivotal bioVenture Partners, Nan Fung Life Sciences, Novartis Venture Fund, Silfurberg, as well as other existing investors. This excellent syndication further broadens Oculis’ strong shareholder base of leading life sciences investors from the US, China and Europe.
Proceeds from this financing will accelerate Oculis’ strategy with the aim of delivering key goals in the near-term to drive shareholder value and bring transformative therapies to patients. The targeted milestones cover the development of novel topical therapies for ophthalmic diseases targeting the retina and anterior segment with high unmet needs, including:
- Advancing Oculis’ late-stage transformative topical Ophthalmic portfolio:
- Move OCS-01 into Phase 3 trials in Diabetic Macular Edema (DME) and complete registration studies in the treatment of Inflammation and Pain following Ocular Surgery. Phase 2 results in DME presented in 2020 showed efficacy and safety of OCS-01, and the first Phase 3 study is scheduled to commence during the second quarter 2021. This groundbreaking therapy is designed and well positioned to become the first topical treatment for retinal edema.
- Advance OCS-02 into Phase 2b trials targeting Dry Eye Disease (DED) and Chronic Anterior Uveitis as a steroid-sparing treatment. OCS-02 is a novel topical anti-TNF alpha antibody fragment, which has demonstrated efficacy and safety in two clinical proof of concept studies in moderate-to-severe DED and Acute Anterior Uveitis. A novel gene variant identified during a previous trial in highly responding DED patients may enable OCS-02 to become the first personalized therapeutic in Severe DED.
- Expanding pipeline of innovative ophthalmology candidates targeting major unmet needs using Oculis’ proprietary formulation discovery platform and going beyond.
- Executing the Company’s international strategy to become a global player to deliver its mission on developing transformative innovative ophthalmic treatments to improve the sight and lives of patients globally.
In conjunction with the closing, Vanessa Huang, General Partner at BVCF Management, and Dr. Sylvia He, Managing Partner at Hyfinity Investments are joining the Oculis Board of Directors while Dr. David Weber and Dr. Thorsteinn Loftsson are stepping down.