2017 Update of OIS Index

The OIS Index is an ophthalmic industry stock index, launched at OIS@AAO in October 2016, as a tool to track the investment performance of publicly traded small and mid-cap growth companies in ophthalmology. There are 31 companies in the index, with a70/30 split between biopharma and ophthalmic device stocks.

Over the 13 months since inception, through November 1, the OIS Index declined in value by 12.2%. The performance of the index has been even more negative when viewed relative to the broader US stock market and the medical device and biotech sectors.

It’s worth noting that much of the underperformance took place at the end of last year and beginning of this year, driven largely by high-profile pipeline setbacks for Ophthotech and Inotek. Performance in recent months has been more competitive, particularly relative to the biotech sector.

As is common practice with sector indices, we cap the valuations of the largest companies, to keep them from dominating the index and to allow smaller companies to make an impact. However, because some of the largest companies in the OIS Index have delivered the strongest stock performance over the past year, our methodology has had a dampening effect on performance.

The largest positive contributors to index performance since inception have been Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Carl Zeiss Meditec, and Spark Therapeutics.

Looking ahead, there are several key events that could drive OIS Index performance over the coming months. For Spark Therapeutics, LUXTURNA for inherited retinal disease is under priority FDA review, with a January 12 PDUFA date. Aerie Pharmaceuticals has a February 28 PDUFA date for Rhopressa, and expects to file its NDA for Roclatan during the first half of next year. And on the device side, Glaukosexpects to file the full PMA for iStent inject by the end of this year.