SpyGlass Pharma Inc. is gearing up to go public amid growing momentum for its intraocular lens and a trade secret dispute with local rival Glaukos Corp.
Earlier this month, the company filed for an initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission to trade on the Nasdaq Global Market under the “SGP” ticker symbol.
The size of the offering, or proposed stock price, hasn’t been determined yet. A $100 million placeholder value was given for the IPO.
SpyGlass says it’s developing the world’s first IOL-mounted drug-delivery platform capable of continuously delivering glaucoma medication into the eye for up to three years. The platform was designed to lower eye fluid pressure in patients with open-angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension.
Proceeds from the offering will be used to advance its lead product through the completion of two Phase 3 clinical trials, and if approved, commercial launch.
Last week, the company announced that the first patients had been randomly assigned to treatment groups in trials evaluating the safety and efficacy of IOL. Each trial is expected to enroll around 400 participants.
“Today’s exciting milestone brings us one step closer to offering the roughly 10,000 cataract surgeons—including the two-thirds who do not routinely perform minimally invasive glaucoma surgery—the promise of seamlessly integrating sustained bimatoprost drug delivery into cataract surgeryÂ,” Chief Executive Patrick Mooney said in a statement.
“Backed by robust clinical data and an optimized phase III trial design that builds on learnings from our earlier studies, we believe SpyGlass Pharma’s BIM-IOL System is well-positioned to advance through clincal development for potential commercial approval.”Â
The last biotech company to go public in Orange County was Irvine-based cancer researcher CG Oncology Inc., which went public in 2024 after raising $380 million, marking one of the largest IPOs for an OC-based firm in the last four years. It currently has a market cap of $4.6 billion (Nasdaq: CGON).
Glaukos Sues Over Alleged Trade Secrets Misappropriation
SpyGlass’ IPO registration revealed that the company is currently involved in litigation with a larger competitor in the space.
Aliso Viejo-based Glaukos, which has built the world’s smallest medical device that’s implanted in the eye to treat glaucoma for up to three years, on Sept. 17 sued one of its former executives Long Doan, who is now vice president of clinical research at SpyGlass, for misappropriating trade secrets.
During his eight years at Glaukos, Doan led clinical and operational oversight of the iDose platform, which took more than a decade of research and development.
The suit, filed within the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, claims that prior to resigning, Doan stole more than 11,000 confidential documents from Glaukos, including clinical, regulatory and commercial plans associated with iDose.
Glaukos alleges that SpyGlass deliberately recruited Doan to join its executive team to advance its product to market.
SpyGlass and Doan, on Nov. 10, each filed to dismiss Glaukos’ complaint, to which Glaukos opposed last month.
A hearing on the motions is set for today.
“We believe we have meritorious defenses, vehemently deny the allegations and intend to defend the case vigorously,” SpyGlass said in the filing.
Neither SpyGlass nor Glaukos responded to requests for comment on the case.
Glaukos has a market cap of $7.4 billion (NYSE: GKOS).
Expanding OC Footprint
Perhaps in preparation for going public, SpyGlass recently signed a lease for a new headquarters at a two-story office in Irvine off the Santa Ana (5) Freeway in the Irvine Spectrum.
SpyGlass, which has been operating out of a smaller building in Aliso Viejo, will occupy the entire building that’s about 33,000 square feet, according to brokerage data.
The lease for SpyGlass’ current headquarters in Mission Viejo is set to expire on July 31.
The Irvine office was previously occupied by device maker Axonics Inc. and once held the headquarters of homebuilder CalAtlantic.
The new lease and S-1 filing come on the heels of SpyGlass raising a $75 million Series D round last summer, bringing its total funding to more than $200 million.
Mooney previously told the Business Journal that the company expects to have a “successful FDA-approved commercial product” by 2029.
SpyGlass says its technology originated from the University of Colorado School of Medicine and was spun off by Dr. Malik Kahook and Glenn Sussman, who co-founded the company in 2019.
In the past year, SpyGlass has added to its executive team, including Dr. Chetan Pujara as chief research and development officer and Jean-Frédéric Viret as chief financial officer.
