SpyGlass Pharma Inc. has developed an intraocular lens (IOL) capable of continuously delivering drugs to eyes for up to three years.
Last month, the Aliso Viejo-based eye-focused drug developer presented positive 18-month data from an ongoing clinical trial that showed promise in controlling intraocular pressure (IOP), or pressure inside the eyes, which can lead to glaucoma.
The results, presented at the Eyecelerator Ophthalmic Innovation Conference in Chicago, Illinois, revealed that 100% of the participants had an at least 20% reduction in IOP and were able to remain off of topical eye drops and medications.
“It’s unheard of,” Chief Executive Patrick Mooney told the Business Journal.
“We’re really excited about the clinical performance and encouraged by the great results that we’re seeing.”
SpyGlass aims to treat chronic eye conditions starting with glaucoma but has active pipeline projects for other retinal diseases.
The company is finishing up enrolling about 100 participants for Phase 2 of the clinical trial and is working “closely” with the Food and Drug Administration to work towards approval.
Killing Two Birds with One Stone
Mooney said SpyGlass is solving two problems at once.
Its IOLs are implanted during routine cataract surgery, decreasing the number of times patients must go in for surgery.
“They’re already in the operating room, so we can put the very medicine that they’re supposed to be taking daily inside the eye and give them years of therapy,” Mooney said.
The IOLs themselves are designed to stay in the patient’s eyes for their entire lifetime. Two drug-eluting pads are attached to the sides of the IOL outside of visual access, which then continuously release glaucoma medication into the eyes for up to three years.
SpyGlass is investigating how to make the drugs in its IOLs last longer than three years for better quality of life for patients.
San Clemente-based Glaukos Corp. has also developed an implant called iDose TR to deliver medication to treat open-angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension.
Instead of a typical thousands of eyedrops administered per eye over a several-year period, once the iDose is implanted into a patient’s eye, its formula is secreted into the affected area 24/7 for up to three years.
Preparing for Commercialization
SpyGlass was founded in 2019 by clinician Dr. Malik Kahook and medical device engineer Glenn Sussman.
Mooney said he’s known the two for more than 20 years through his work in sales at Alcon Inc. (NYSE: ALC), the world’s largest eye care device company.
As a field sales representative, the issue of glaucoma “spoke to” Mooney early on in his career, who thought there must be a better solution than asking patients to pay for and take multiple bottles of eyedrops every day.
Following his nearly 17-year tenure at Alcon, Mooney went on to senior roles at Swiss dermatology company Galderma and Swiss drug maker Novartis (NYSE: NVS), which acquired Alcon for about $38 billion in 2011 before spinning it out in 2019.
In 2021, he became the seventh employee and CEO of SpyGlass.
The company is currently in growth mode and has hired 20 people in the past year, making for 36 total employees. It’s scaling operations to prepare for Phase 3 of clinical trials and, eventually, commercial manufacturing.
Last year, SpyGlass announced that it raised a $90 million Series C round, bringing its overall fundraising to date to more than $120 million.
The company will use the proceeds from the round primarily for clinical trials and enrollment.
SpyGlass expects to begin enrolling patients for Phase 3 by mid-2025, according to Mooney.
