Arctic Vision Announces US$32MN in Series A to Expand and Develop Innovative Therapies Pipeline in Ophthalmology

July 14,2020

Arctic Vision, a clinical-stage biotechnology company incubated by Nan Fung Life Sciences and Pivotal BioVenture Partners China in 2019, today announced its $32mn Series A financing led by Morningside Ventures, together with its existing investors. Arctic Vision focuses on the development and commercialization of innovative ophthalmology therapies in China and Asia. The three investment institutions are actively investing in leading life science companies in the world with long term commitment.

Arctic Vision will use the proceeds to gear up the clinical trials for ARVN001. ARVN001 is a proprietary suspension of the Triamcinolone Acetonide formulated for Suprachoroidal Space (SCS) administration via proprietary SCS Microinjector™ (known as XIPERE™ in the US). The first pursued indication in China will be macular edema associated with uveitis (UME). This innovative therapy is developed by Clearside Biomedical, Inc. Arctic Vision has exclusive rights to develop and commercialize the product in Greater China and South Korea.

Arctic Vision also plans to use the proceeds to expand its innovative product portfolio in ophthalmology, while building in-house R&D capabilities at the same time. The company's goal is to address unmet medical needs in the ophthalmology field, and to bring in cutting-edge drug delivery technologies and treatment options to the Asian market, especially China.

Dr. Eddy (Hoi Ti) Wu, Founder and CEO of Arctic Vision, commented: "We welcome the investments from the leading biotech-focused venture capital firms. The Series A financing is an important step for us as an emerging biotech company to become an ophthalmology leader in the China and global markets. We see huge unmet clinical needs in ophthalmology in China. Therefore, we hope to bring more innovative and breakthrough treatments to our markets and continue to develop them for our patients. In future we will further explore gene therapies, innovative drug delivery systems and other cutting-edge technologies for the ultimate benefit of patients with eye diseases."

"We have great confidence in and expectations of Arctic Vision to advance clinical trials of ARVN001 in China, since patients with uveitis urgently need an innovative therapy," said Ms. Lily Shen from Morningside Ventures. "We are also impressed by the management team at Arctic Vision. The Founder and CEO Dr. Eddy Wu has extensive experience in ophthalmology industry globally and in China, as well as managerial experience in start-up company. The core leadership team is extremely experienced as they previously worked for top global ophthalmology companies such as Alcon and Allergan, and demonstrated outstanding capability in launching ophthalmology products in China. We are very pleased to invest in Arctic Vision team, led by Dr. Eddy Wu. Morningside Ventures is devoted to fostering healthcare innovation in a variety of therapeutic fields. We will fully leverage our funding and resources to support Arctic Vision to grow rapidly and help more patients."

"We are very pleased to continue supporting Arctic Vision. Since the very beginning, Nan Fung Life Sciences and Pivotal BioVenture Partners China have chosen a specific therapeutic area like ophthalmology to create a first-class company. We hope that Arctic Vision will become a role model in advancing innovative ophthalmology therapies in China and even Asia." Ms. Dianna Qian, partner of Pivotal BioVentures Partners China, an affiliate of Nan Fung Life Sciences, commented, "Ophthalmology is a hot sector closely followed by global biotech players, but the existing ophthalmology technologies and therapies in China are significantly lagging behind those in developed markets. Physicians often do not have the latest cutting-edge tools to treat patients, and patients find themselves in dire need of innovative drugs and therapies. We expect Arctic Vision to score great accomplishments in the field of ophthalmology."