Israeli eye treatment developer Orasis Pharmaceuticals has announced the closing of a $13 million Series B financing round. The financing was led by the ophthalmology-focused venture capital fund Visionary Ventures, with participation from Sequoia Capital, SBI (Japan) Innovation Ventures, LifeSci Venture Partners, and other private investors. Jeffry Weinhuff, managing partner of Visionary Ventures and Masafuyu Tanaka, president of SBI (Japan) Innovation Ventures, will join the Orasis Board of Directors in conjunction with the financing.
Based in Herzliya, Orasis Pharmaceuticals is a privately-held, clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on developing an innovative eye drop for the treatment of presbyopia (far sightedness) symptoms. Proceeds from the financing will be used to advance Orasis’s lead product candidate, CSF-1, an eye drop being developed for the treatment of presbyopia symptoms, through completion of its Phase IIb clinical trial. The proceeds will also be used for preparation of the Phase III trial and to continue pre-commercial activities ahead of the potential launch of CSF-1.
Orasis CEO Elad Kedar said, “The recent Series B funding is a significant milestone for Orasis, which will allow us to advance the clinical development of CSF-1, an eye drop with the potential to eliminate the need for reading glasses in patients with presbyopia, a condition with substantial market opportunities and a significant unmet need. The recent investment led by Visionary Ventures, a top life science investment fund exclusively focused on ophthalmology, provides strong validation of our vision and approach.”
Visionary Ventures managing partner Jeffry Weinhuff said, “There are almost two billion people in the world affected with presbyopia and there is a significant need for new, noninvasive treatment options. We look forward to continuing working with the company’s management team to advance CSF-1’s clinical development.”
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 6, 2018
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