Networking group OCTANe hosted its annual meeting for one of Orange County’s hottest industries: ophthalmology.
More than 320 attendees, including 100-plus doctors, came to the Ophthalmology Technology Summit to listen to startups discuss the most recent treatments for the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders.
Among those attending was keynote speaker Tom Burns, chief executive at San Clemente’s Glaukos Corp. (NYSE: GKOS), which has seen its stock almost double in the past year to a $2.8 billion market cap.
“We are a 17-year overnight success,” Burns said at the June 28 event, which was held at Newport Beach’s Fashion Island.
Also in attendance was Caren Mason, who this year moved her company, Starr Surgical Co. (Nasdaq: STAA) from Monrovia to Lake Forest because she said OC is a good location for recruiting ophthalmic talents. The company, which expects revenue to grow 20% this year from $129.3 million in 2018, is the second most valuable ophthalmology firm with a $1.3 billion market cap.
Other prominent speakers included Jim Mazzo, global president of Ophthalmic Devices at Zeiss, David Pyott, the former chief executive of Allergan and Tom Mitro, chief operating officer of Aerie Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: AERI).
Among companies making presentations at OCTANe’s LaunchPad were:
• Cell Care Therapeutics founder Nicolas Sohl told the audience how he himself is a patient-turned-entrepreneur who suffered recalcitrant acute chronic inflammation that left him disabled. Wanting to return to a normal life, Sohl received the experimental mesenchymal therapy and was successfully healed.
During the course of treatment, Sohl met with researchers and scientists developing the therapy and founded Cell Care Therapeutics with their assistance following his illness to help with other neurodegenerative conditions.
The Los Angeles-based company develops regenerative immunotherapies derived from the secretions of adult stem cells. The therapy is designed to treat diabetic retinopathy, a $2.8 billion global market.
Cell Care’s primary regenerative medicine drug is CCT-101—it has no catchy name or shortened layman’s lingo since it is still in the preclinical phase.
• Newport Beach’s IACTA Pharmaceuticals was the brainchild of former Allergan executives, including Chief Executive Damon Burrows, who was an associate general counsel at Allergan. Two of the IACTA’s products have advanced to Phase II of preclinical trials.
• Visgenx Inc. is developing two different treatments for dry, age-related macular degeneration, which is a leading cause of blindness with currently no approved treatments. The company is prepping two of the pharmaceuticals to enter Phase II clinical trials after filing the application.
The San Diego-based company’s development strategy is a “fast to market” approach based on targeting specific genes. Its science is based on breakthrough research conducted at the Shiley Eye Institute of California at the University of California-San Diego.
“The discovery identifies the critical role of a gene involved in the synthesis of lipids necessary for retinal health which becomes ‘methylated’ and dysfunctional as a consequence of aging,” the company said.
The company is currently seeking to raise $2.2 million.
• Irvine-based LensGen Inc. is developing a product called Juvene as a replacement intraocular lens for those suffering from presbyopia, which is a loss in the eye’s ability to focus on an object, or cataracts, which is the clouding of the lens.
Juvene is designed to change the curvature of the natural human lens and show it can rejuvenate youthful vision to individuals affected by cataracts and presbyopia.
“We at LensGen are excited that this innovative technology is generating excellent early outcomes,” LensGens founder and Chief Creative Officer Ramgopal Rao said.
The product is currently being prepared for FDA clinical trials.
Rao has been an entrepreneur for 25 years, co-founding eye-related companies such as Acufocus Inc. and Tomey Technologies. His company was presented as an OCTANe success story; it raised $21 million in Series A financing in 2017.
