Novaliq Raises New Capital to Accelerate the Commercialization of its Lead Products for Dry Eye Disease

HEIDELBERG, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Novaliq, a specialty pharmaceutical company for the development and commercialization of first- and best-in-class ocular therapeutics based on EyeSol^®, the worldwide first water-free technology for ophthalmology, today announces it has raised USD 53 million to further support its late-stage products and earlier pipeline programs.

Since inception, Novaliq has raised USD 115 million. The new investment is done by its lead investor dievini Hopp BioTech Holding, an active investor in Life and Health Sciences companies; it reflects the strong commitment of Novaliq’s lead investor to the company.

Novaliq has a portfolio of best- and first-in-class products for ophthalmology. Novaliq’s lead assets, CyclASol^® and NOV03, both provide novelties in the therapy of dry eye disease (DED) and have the potential to redefine the treatment of patients with DED:

• CyclASol^®, an anti-inflammatory and immunomodulating drug for the treatment of dry eye disease (DED) with a demonstrated early onset of action and excellent tolerability, is being evaluated in the pivotal phase 2b/3 ESSENCE trial.
• NOV03, the first drug addressing evaporative DED associated with meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD), is being evaluated in the phase 2 SEECASE trial with more than 300 patients. Evaporative DED accounts for 61-90% of all DED patients¹⁾.

Both products enable a selected treatment option for different patient groups for better treatment outcomes: CyclASol^® is intended for treating DED associated with signs and symptoms predominantly in aqueous deficient DED patients and NOV03 is a first in class treatment in evaporative DED associated with MGD.

Both late stage drugs have best-in-class potential with estimated global peak sales of well above USD 2bn.

Proceeds from the financing round will be used on clinical development, to prepare for the commercialization of CyclASol^® and NOV03, as well as to continue the development of Novaliq’s earlier pipeline programs for glaucoma and retinal diseases.

“We are excited with the continued support by our lead investor,” said Oliver Schlüter, CFO of Novaliq. “The proceeds from this financing round provide us with the resources to further accelerate our development and commercialization efforts for our two late-stage DED products and to strengthen our earlier pipeline.”

Novaliq’s CEO, Christian Roesky, will present topline results of two recently completed clinical trials for CyclASol^® and NOV03, for the first time during the Ophthalmology Innovation Summit (OIS@AAO) on October 25th, 2018 in Chicago, USA.

About Novaliq

Novaliq is a pharmaceutical company for the development and commercialization of first- and best-in-class ocular therapeutics based on EyeSol^®, the worldwide first water-free technology for ophthalmology. With an initial focus on dry eye disease (DED), Novaliq offers an industry-leading portfolio addressing today’s unmet medical needs of millions of patients with eye diseases: NovaTears^® improves the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease (DED) and is marketed under CE approval in Australia/New Zealand by AFT Pharmaceuticals and in Europe as EvoTears^® by Ursapharm. Two drugs are in the late stage of clinical development with results expected in Q4 2018:

• CyclASol^®, an anti-inflammatory and immunomodulating drug for the treatment of DED with a demonstrated early onset of action and excellent tolerability, is being evaluated in the pivotal phase 2b/3 ESSENCE trial.
• NOV03, the first drug addressing evaporative DED associated with meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD), is being evaluated in the phase 2 SEECASE trial.

Novaliq is headquartered in Heidelberg, Germany and has also an office in Cambridge, MA, USA. The long-term shareholder is dievini Hopp BioTech Holding, an active investor in Life and Health Sciences companies. More on www.novaliq.com

Source:

1) Lemp et al.; Cornea 2012, 31: 472–8

 

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