Oyster Point Pharma, Inc., a Princeton, NJ-based clinical-stage pharmaceutical company with an initial focus on developing novel therapies to treat Dry Eye Disease, raised $93m in Series B financing.
The round was co-led by Invus Opportunities and Flying L Partners in collaboration with Falcon Vision and existing investors New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Versant Ventures, and new investor Vida Ventures.
The company will use the proceeds to support the development of its product portfolio for Dry Eye Disease, explore new treatment areas, and add key talent.
Led by Jeffrey Nau, Ph.D., M.M.S., President and CEO, Oyster Point is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company leveraging neuroscience to discover, develop, and commercialize novel therapies to treat diseases with high unmet needs. The company’s initial focus is to develop innovative therapeutics to treat the signs and symptoms of Dry Eye Disease by stimulating the trigeminal parasympathetic pathway to activate the glands and cells responsible for tear film production, known as the Lacrimal Functional Unit. Oyster Point is leveraging a class of molecules called nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) agonists to bind to receptors on the trigeminal nerve, accessible within the nose, to stimulate natural tear film production.
The company’s lead product candidates, OC-01 and OC-02, are delivered via an ocular surface-sparing nasal spray designed to stimulate the trigeminal parasympathetic pathway to promote natural tear film production. In Phase 2b clinical studies, patients administered either OC-01 or OC-02 experienced rapid and significant improvements in both the signs and symptoms of Dry Eye Disease. Both were well-tolerated with no significant ocular adverse events or drug-related serious adverse events.
FinSMEs
26/02/2019