Swiss Oculis SA raises $57m in Series C

The financing 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.

Proceeds from this financing will be used to advance Oculis’ proprietary solubilizing nanoparticle formulations for ophthalmic diseases targeting the retina and anterior segment, a new non-invasive treatment option for patients whose current therapies are limited to injections or implants. According to the company, it will move its diabetic macular edema candidate OCS-01 into Phase III trials in Q2/2021 and complete registration studies in the treatment of inflammation and pain following ocular surgery with the topical formulation of the corticoid dexamethasone. Furthermore, Oculis is going to advance its single-chain anti-TNF alpha antibody fragment OCS-02 into Phase 2b proof-of-concept trials targeting dry eye disease (DED) and chronic anterior uveitis as a steroid-sparing treatment. The company also wants to add new topical formulations of ophthalmologoc candidates to its pipeline.

Upon the financing, Vanessa Huang, General Partner at BVCF Management, and Dr. Sylvia He, Managing Partner at Hyfinity Investments, are joining Oculis’ Board  while Dr. David Weber and Dr. Thorsteinn Loftsson will be stepping down.