Switzerland-based eye drop developer Oculis completed a CHF20m ($20.3m) series B round yesterday co-led by Novartis Venture Fund, a corporate venturing vehicle owned by drug producer Novartis.
The round was co-led with life sciences investment fund manager Bay City Capital and venture capital firm Pivotal BioVenture Partners. Healthcare-focused VC firm Silfurberg and VC fund Brunnur Ventures also took part in the round.
Founded in Iceland, Oculis is working on eye drops that can be applied to the eye in order to better treat diseases at its rear which currently require injections or implants.
The company’s lead asset, OC-118, is being developed to target diabetic macular edema, a blindness-inducing condition caused by blood vessels leaking fluid into the retina.
The series B funds will be used to prepare additional ophthalmic drug candidates based on Oculis technology for the clinical testing stage. The company’s head office has been relocated to Lausanne in Switzerland, though its R&D activities will continue in Iceland.
Florent Gros, managing director of Novartis Venture Fund, has been appointed chairman of the Oculis board of directors following the series B round.
Arni Blöndal of Brunnur Ventures, Lionel Carnot of Bay City Capital, Rob Hopfner of Pivotal BioVenture and Stefan Sveinsson, formerly senior vice-president at pharmaceutical development at drug maker Allergan, will also take board seats at the company.
Brunnur Ventures and Silfurberg provided Oculis with an unspecified amount of series A funding in 2016, after Oculis had received a grant of undisclosed size from the state-owned Icelandic Centre for Research the year before.