Ophthalmic startup Eluminex Biosciences Ltd. closed a $40 million series B round to progress its pipeline of ophthalmic assets and recombinant human collagen technology. Eluminex’s pipeline includes multi-targeted antibody molecules for vision-threatening retinal diseases and an oral small molecule for rare inherited pediatric retinal dystrophies, but its lead asset, EB-301, is a biosynthetic cornea derived from recombinant human type III collagen.
Shares of Oyster Point Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ:OYST) soared to $11.57, or 38.6% on word of the buyout by Viatris Inc., which is also taking over privately held, development-stage Famy Life Sciences Ltd. to create an ophthalmology franchise that Viatris estimates could mean at least $1 billion in sales by 2028 as well as at least $500 million more in adjusted EBITDA.
The U.S. FDA approved Santen Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.’s and UBE Industries Ltd.’s Omlonti (omidenepag isopropyl) ophthalmic solution for reducing elevated intraocular pressure in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. It is the second FDA-approved product from Japan-based Santen in the last 15 months for patients in the U.S. with vision conditions.
Taiwan’s Brim Biotechnology Inc. announced a capital raise of $18 million to advance its lead candidate, regenerative peptide therapy BRM-421, to phase III trials for dry eye syndrome.
Researchers are closer to better diagnosing and treating age-related macular degeneration (AMD) after discovering new genetic signatures of the disease by reprogramming stem cells to generate high-resolution disease models.
Frontera Therapeutics Inc. raised $160 million in a series B funding round to develop its lead gene therapy product candidate for retinal disease, FT-001, for which INDs have been approved by the U.S. FDA and China NMPA.
China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) approved Ocumension Therapeutics Ltd.’s and Eyepoint Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s drug-device combination product, Yutiq (fluocinolone acetonide intravitreal implant), for chronic non-infectious uveitis affecting the posterior segment of the eye.
Visus Therapeutics Inc. has out-licensed phase III candidates Brimochol and Carbachol to Hong Kong’s Zhaoke Ophthalmology Ltd. to develop and commercialize its long-acting, presbyopia-correcting eye drops in greater China, South Korea and select Southeast Asian territories.
Askgene Pharma Inc., which less than two weeks ago reported positive initial data from an ongoing phase I/II trial testing its claudin 18.2-targeting candidate, ASKB-589, added $20 million in a series A round, intended to advance the company’s clinical pipeline and support further development of its Smartkine cytokine drug platform.
IPOs continue to be sluggish but two companies, Pepgen Inc. and Bausch & Lomb Corp., that began trading May 6 managed to sidestep the turbulence despite having to lower their expectations before the market opened.
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