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Ocular Therapeutix pursues opportunities to spur innovation, development
With the completion of its IPO, the company foresees increased access to capital, which may help propel novel ocular therapies into the market.
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After completing an initial public offering in July 2014, Ocular Therapeutix is prepared to forge ahead with research and development and execute plans to market novel drug delivery products from the platform that is the company’s hallmark.
Although some losses related to research and development are expected, the company plans to devote newly available capital to drive innovation and carve new therapeutic niches in ophthalmology.
Amar Sawhney
According to Amar Sawhney, PhD, president and CEO of Ocular Therapeutix, the increased access to capital will drive research and development around the platform to create novel drug delivery products.
“The reason for going public is to be able to have access to capital in a broader context than financings as a private company would typically allow and to be able to allow us to access additional capital as time requires,” Sawhney told Ocular Surgery News. “We have a fairly broad vision of changing ophthalmology from therapies that are delivered by eye drops or frequent injections to either one-and-done therapies or significantly reducing the frequency of those. The hope is to be able to go after most of the major disease categories and build category-dominating products, using some of today’s most effective drugs through our delivery systems and creating novel therapies.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Ocular Therapeutix’s first product, ReSure sealant, in January 2014.
Even though ReSure is expected to generate significant revenues, punctum plugs have the most revenue-generating potential, Sawhney said.
Opportunities and challenges
Ocular Therapeutix priced its IPO of 5 million common stock shares at $13 per share, before underwriting discounts and commissions, according to a company press release.
“We raised $75 million through the public offering,” Sawhney said. “We are well-resourced to be able to pursue the programs that we have laid out. We are well on our way to doing that.”
The company reported a third-quarter 2014 net loss of about $7.3 million, or $0.48 per share, compared with a net loss of $3.5 million, or $1.34 per share, in the same quarter the previous year. Sawhney said that the IPO and heavy investment in research and development will involve losses for more than 2 years.
“Afterwards, depending on when we decide to commercialize these products, the cash flow situation may change at that point in time. But right now, we are more focused on making sure that we have adequate capital to advance these products through clinical development,” Sawhney said.
Development and building
Ocular Therapeutix is developing a diverse line of three drug-eluting punctum plugs and an injectable vehicle for sustained release of anti-VEGFs into the posterior segment.
Two ongoing phase 3 clinical trials are focused on the company’s dexamethasone punctum plug for postoperative pain and inflammation. In addition, the company just completed a phase 2 study with the same product for allergic conjunctivitis and is currently enrolling a dry eye study.
In November 2014, Ocular Therapeutix began enrolling subjects in a phase 2b clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of sustained-release travoprost for the reduction of IOP in patients with open-angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension.
The company also has a moxifloxacin punctum plug and is considering feasibility research in collaboration with several pharmaceutical partners to create a first-in-class 6-month sustained-release anti-VEGF hydrogel injection vehicle for retinal diseases.
“All of these programs constitute a lot of investment into product development and clinical development, which is accounting for the expenditure,” Sawhney said.
Company officials expect to build a commercial infrastructure as the dexamethasone plug and other products enter the market, he said.
“We have not built up our own commercial organization to service the ReSure sealant. We would do that when the first punctum plug, which is the dexamethasone steroid-eluting plug, is on the market sometime in the mid-2016 timeframe,” Sawhney said. – by Matt Hasson
For more information:
Amar Sawhney, PhD, can be reached at Ocular Therapeutix, 34 Crosby Drive, Suite 105, Bedford, MA 01730; 781-357-4011; email: asawhney@ocutx.com.Disclosure: Sawhney is president and CEO of Ocular Therapeutix.