Opthea Limited announced a non-dilutive financing transaction for up to US$170 million from investment funds working with Launch Therapeutics (Launch Tx) to finance and advance the ongoing Phase 3 clinical trials and pre-commercialization activities of OPT-302 for wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD). Launch Tx is the recently formed development company backed by funds managed by global investment firm Carlyle and its life sciences franchise, Abingworth. Under the terms of the agreement, the funds managed by Carlyle and Abingworth, in collaboration with Launch Tx, will commit USD 120 million in three installments at fixed time points and retain an option to commit another USD 50 million, representing total funding of up to USD 170 million for Opthea.

If OPT-302 is approved in a major market, Opthea will make a milestone payment after regulatory approval and then six subsequent annual fixed success payments and variable success payments of 7% of net sales, with cumulative payments capped at four times the amount funded to Opthea. Opthea retains full worldwide commercial rights for OPT-302 and has the option to prepay its obligations in full at any time. With this collaboration, the company will advance OPT-302 through its ongoing Phase 3 trials and hope to reach regulatory approval in a timely manner, with the intention of bringing this important medicine to patients in need.

At Launch Tx, the company committed to working with pharma and biotech partners to expedite late-stage drug development programs. OPT-302 is a first-in-class intravitreally administered biologic ôtrapö inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factors C (VEGF-C) and D (VEGF-D) currently being investigated in two concurrent Phase 3 pivotal registrational trials that will each enroll ~990 treatment nanve patients, in combination with two approved anti-VEGF-A treatments, ranibizumab (ShORe trial) and aflibercept (COAST trial). OPT-302 has the potential to be positioned as complementary and agnostic with any combined antiûVEGF-A therapy for the treatment of wet AMD, a strategy intended to maximize the commercial opportunity for the therapy.