2020 PRESENTING COMPANIES
20/20 OptimEyes Technologies
C20/20 is the new Innovation Hub at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada. Our first spin out company, OptimEyes Technologies, has developed an innovative topical approach improving the sustained effect of therapeutics targeted initially for dry eye disease. Our first product is an aqueous, micelle technology mucoadhesive formulation with a higher-dose cyclosporine A drop that can relieve symptoms when administered twice a week, with the potential for once a week treatment. This allows patients to put in drops comfortably and less frequently, improving patient compliance and so potentially increasing clinical outcomes to improve their vision. Multiple strategic opportunities exist for additional therapeutics with this novel micelle technology.
Allergan
Allergan plc (NYSE: AGN), is a global pharmaceutical leader focused on developing, manufacturing and commercializing branded pharmaceutical, device, biologic, surgical and regenerative medicine products for patients around the world. With colleagues and commercial operations located in approximately 100 countries, Allergan is committed to working with physicians, healthcare providers and patients to deliver innovative treatments that help people around the world live longer, healthier lives.
Allergan markets a portfolio of leading brands and best-in-class products primarily focused on four key therapeutic areas: medical aesthetics, eye care, central nervous system and gastroenterology. As part of Allergan's approach to delivering innovation for better patient care, Allergan has built one of the broadest pharmaceutical and device research and development pipelines in the industry.
Azura Ophthalmics
Azura Ophthalmics Limited is a clinical-stage biotechnology company headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel. Azura Ophthalmics is developing an innovative portfolio of compounds in combination with a novel drug delivery platform to advance a portfolio of treatments for Meibomian Gland Dysfunction (MGD) and other Lid Margin Diseases such as Blepharitis. and Contact Lens Discomfort. By targeting the root cause of MGD, Azura Ophthalmics brings the promise of improved health and well-being to millions of people worldwide who suffer from MGD. Azura Ophthalmics is underpinned by an experienced management team with an established record of successfully developing and launching both novel devices and pharmaceuticals for the treatment of ocular surface diseases.
BELKIN Laser
BELKIN Laser is a clinical-stage medical device company, developing an automated one-second laser treatment for glaucoma, called Direct-SLT (DSLT)
In the USA, there are 8M people with glaucoma, and only 18,000 ophthalmologists, many who do not treat glaucoma. We are committed to bridging that gap in glaucoma patient care.
The DSLT laser targets the external limbus, thus it is indicated for all glaucoma types, including ACG. The automated, non-contact and painless treatment is touchscreen-activated and controlled by an image acquisition algorithm and a proprietary eye tracker. Because treatment is easier to perform than conventional SLT, it can be easily used by any ophthalmologist or optometrist, dramatically increasing the number of available practitioners and consequently treated patients, while augmenting revenue stream for eye care practices.
Diopter Corp
Diopter is developing a new drug delivery technology based on a modified contact lens. The company has a proprietary method of combing existing contact lenses with already approved drugs to create new ophthalmic pharmaceuticals products. The Diopter approach significantly increases the bioavailibity of ocular drugs over the common eye drops. Only a small fraction of drug delivered by eye drops reaches the target tissue and the remaining fraction can cause side effects.
The Diopter technology has demonstrated feasibility in animal and human studies, from infectious disease to glaucoma. In glaucoma the company has shown prolonged IOP reduction in an early stage clinical study of glaucoma patients. No adverse events were reported in the study. Additional clinical research is ongoing with expected results in Q2 2020.
Eyedaptic’s unique Software for retina-related vision loss, embedded in Augmented Reality glasses, simulate natural vision for suffers with AMD and central
vision loss, to help sufferers lead fuller lives. Equipped with patent pending software the Company’s solution optimizes the sufferer’s functional peripheral vision and adapts to their habits and environment. Unlike other visual aids that use only magnification, thereby reducing the user’s field of vision, our solution maximizes their field of view. The camera captures the surroundings, manipulates the pixels and re-displays the image, and the adapted view for the wearer takes advantage of the part of the retina that still functions well.
Eyedetec Medical
Eyedetec Medical is developing a novel therapy for MGD that is much easier to use than other technologies, is extremely soothing and comfortable for the patient, and is significantly less expensive than any other approach. We have strong IP with FTO confirmed, positive proof-of-concept clinical data, plans for a multi-center clinical study, low-risk regulatory pathway, and a strong team of executives and physician advisors. We are raising a $5M Series A equity round, and anticipate having a commercial ready product within 15 months of funding.
Eyenovia
Eyenovia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EYEN), a pre-NDA stage ophthalmic biopharmaceutical company developing a pipeline of microdose therapeutics utilizing its patented piezo-print delivery technology to improve the therapeutic index, delivery and comfort of drugs in pediatric myopia, presbyopia and pharmaceutical mydriasis.
IrisVision
IrisVision is the global leader in digital vision technologies. We have developed the world’s first smart visual assistive device built on wearable VR technology to help vision-impaired people regain their sight, achieve independence and do the things they love. Harnessing the power of a Samsung smartphone mounted in a Samsung headset, IrisVision enables people with impaired visual acuity due to conditions such as macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and RP to see clearly. IrisVision is the only wearable low vision solution backed by a research grant from the National Eye Institute, clinically validated and developed in collaboration with researchers from Johns Hopkins University, Stanford University and UPMC Pittsburg. IrisVision is an FDA Class I medical device already in use by thousands of people around the world.
LENTECHS
LENTECHS, LLC is a clinical stage company, developing a first-in-class suspended soft contact lens. The patented contact lens utilizes proprietary front and back surfaces, and a smooth ridge to suspend the lens from the inside of the upper eyelid. This design facilitates free movement of the eye behind the lens as it moves from straight ahead gaze for distance correction to down gaze for near correction, resulting in clear, crisp vision. Additionally, two key proprietary features maintain rotational stability of the contact lens in all eye positions. The LENTECHS contact lens design provides the first and only fully-translating, soft contact lens that is comfortable and provides true, glasses-like, vision correction for presbyopia.
MacuLogix
MacuLogix® equips eye care professionals with the only disease management platform to help them effectively diagnose, manage and treat patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). By leveraging the science of dark adaptation through its AdaptDx® and AdaptDx Pro™ guided by Theia™, MacuLogix is working to eliminate preventable blindness caused by AMD—a chronic, progressive disease that impacts nearly 200 million people worldwide and goes undiagnosed in 25 percent of patients. The company's dark adaptation functional testing technology combined with its MeyePractice™ software creates a powerful disease management platform that incorporates patient, clinical and business management data into one simple dashboard. MacuLogix is helping eye care professionals better utilize their full complement of instrumentation and software to better diagnose and manage patients with AMD.
Ocuphire Pharma
Ocuphire is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development and commercialization of drugs to treat important ophthalmic disorders. The company’s lead drug candidate, preservative-free Nyxol® Eye Drops, is being developed for multiple front-of-the-eye indications, including night vision disturbances, reversal of mydriasis and presbyopia, through a 505(b)(2) pathway. With safety and efficacy data from 7 Phase 1 and Phase 2 trials, Nyxol has demonstrated a differentiated target product profile that includes moderately reducing pupil size (leading to improved distance and near visual acuity and contrast sensitivity) and convenient once-daily evening dosing with durable >24 hour effects. Ocuphire’s second drug candidate, APX3330, is a novel oral small molecule targeting retina indications, initially with plans for Phase 2 in diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular edema.
Oyster Point Pharma
Oyster Point Pharma is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of first-in-class pharmaceutical therapies to treat ocular surface diseases. Oyster Point Pharma’s lead product candidate, OC-01, a highly selective nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) agonist, is being developed as a nasal spray to treat the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease. Dry eye disease is a chronic, progressive condition that impacts more than 30 million Americans and is growing in prevalence. OC-01’s novel mechanism of action re-establishes tear film homeostasis by activating the trigeminal parasympathetic pathway to stimulate the glands and cells responsible for natural tear film production, known as the Lacrimal Functional Unit (LFU).
Sight Sciences
In 2011, Sight Sciences was founded to change the way the practice of ophthalmology and optometry thinks about and treats the leading causes of eye disease. Supported by leading medical technology and private equity investors, Sight Sciences operates two business lines: surgical and non-surgical systems. Its surgical product portfolio consists of the OMNI™ Surgical System, TRAB®360 and VISCO360® for use by ophthalmologists. Its non-surgical product portfolio consists of its TearCare™ technologies for use by ophthalmologists and optometrists.
SightGlass Vision
SightGlass Vision, Inc. is a clinical-stage medtech startup company focused on ending myopia.
Tarsus Pharmaceuticals
Tarsus is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that was founded in 2017 with a vision to develop innovative therapies for a range of diseases in need of better solutions, starting with Demodex Blepharitis and eye care. The lead product, TP-03, targets an underlying cause of blepharitis and has the potential to be the first-ever drug treatment for this condition. The company's product pipeline, built around a best in class new molecule, includes additional indications in eye care and other areas of high unmet clinical need.
TearClear
TearClear is developing a platform of products, for multiple indications, where the preservative stays in the bottle, but is preservative free on the eye. We are the only company that can do this approach. This is important since preservatives, in particular BAK, cause ocular surface damage for over 25% of chronic users. TearClear meets the critical unmet need for the patient while providing an unmatched safety profile.
TearClear offers the potential for improved outcomes to patients who rely on glaucoma and dry-eye drugs. With demonstrated safety and efficacy, TearClear is responding to the interests of both patients, who prefer multi-use bottles over single-dose, and physicians, who prefer preservative-free therapies.
TearSolutions
TearSolutions is a privately held company with a virtual business structure. We are developing a peptide fragment of Lacritin which we call Lacripep(TM) for the treatment of dry eye. Both Lacritin and the peptide fragment are naturally occurring in tear and deficient in all forms of dry eye and our approach to the clinic is as a replacement therapy. In preclinical studies, Lacripep(TM) works in a receptor mediated manner to increase the mucin, lipid and aqueous components of tear which are frequently in an imbalanced state in dry eye. Lacripep(TM) also returns the corneal epithelial surface to homeostasis and reduces staining. We will present data from an adequate and well controlled 204 patient Phase 2 trial in dry eye associated with primary Sjogren's Syndrome.