PRINCETON, NJ — Oyster Point Pharma Inc., a pharmaceutical company developing therapies for dry eye disease, has raised $93 million in funding.
The Series B financing round was co-led by Invus Opportunities and Flying L Partners in collaboration with Falcon Vision. Existing investors New Enterprise Associates and Versant Ventures, as well as new investor Vida Ventures, participated in the round.
“Our team sees immense promise in this investment given Oyster Point’s encouraging clinical evidence, the potential market size, and the leadership team’s extensive experience developing and commercializing ophthalmology therapies,” said Benjamin Tsai of Invus Opportunities. “We believe Oyster Point’s therapies will redefine the standard of care for Dry Eye Disease, a condition that affects millions of people.”
Oyster Point will use the proceeds to support the development of its product portfolio for dry eye disease, explore new treatment areas and add key talent. The company’s lead product candidates, known as 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,” according to a press release.
“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,” according to the release. “Both were well-tolerated with no significant ocular adverse events or drug-related serious adverse events.”
“Having spent decades leading and investing in ophthalmology companies, it’s exciting to see continued innovation and leadership in this space, especially in an area of such high unmet need as Dry Eye Disease,” said William Link of Flying L Partners. “We look forward to supporting the team at Oyster Point as they progress into Phase 3 clinical development, plan for commercialization, and advance additional pipeline assets.”
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Jeffrey Nau, president and CEO of Oyster Point, said, “We are grateful to our investors for their partnership and look forward to initiating a Phase 3 clinical development program for Dry Eye Disease. Our novel approach to empower patients with Dry Eye Disease to stimulate their own natural tears has tremendous potential. This financing will bring us a step closer to offering much needed relief to patients in an area that has limited treatment options.”
