Arctic Vision Announces Completion of Over US$100 Million Series B Financing to Accelerate Portfolio Expansion, Clinical Development and Commercialization

Arctic Vision, a China-based clinical-stage ophthalmology company focused on developing innovative therapies for pan-ocular diseases, today announced the completion of over US$100 million Series B financing. The Series B round was led by Loyal Valley Capital, with participation from Tencent, Octagon Capital, and Dr. Adrian Cheng, renowned entrepreneur from New World Development Group, along with existing investors Nan Fung Life Sciences, Pivotal bioVenture Partners China and Morningside Ventures. The proceeds will continue to support the progress of Arctic Vision's pipeline, including clinical developments, registrational activities, and commercialization; as well as the establishment of in-house R&D capabilities; business development, and organizational growth.

Arctic Vision currently has three late-stage in-licensed products: ARVN001 for uveitic macular edema (UME), ARVN002 for pediatric progressive myopia and ARVN003 for presbyopia. In particular, ARVN001 obtained Investigational New Drug (IND) approval for UME in China in December 2020, and the company expects to begin Phase 3 clinical trials this year. The IND applications for ARVN002 and ARVN003 are on track as well. In addition, Arctic Vision aims to take a number of novel assets into the clinical trial this year, deepening its in-house R&D and clinical development capabilities.

Dr. Eddy Wu, Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Board Director of Arctic Vision, commented: "Since inception, Arctic Vision has focused on identifying the most novel ocular therapies globally. Over the past year, we have successfully licensed in three innovative products with proprietary technology platforms, as well as achieved rapid clinical progress across our assets, due to the dedication of our highly experienced talent team and advisors. We are confident to leverage the proceeds from this financing round to further accelerate the clinical development of our pipeline assets and enhance commercialization capabilities, thus organically combining our in-house R&D efforts with external technologies to deliver safe and efficacious clinical solutions to patients. At the same time, we look forward to expanding our focus and attention to other countries in Asia, with the aim of addressing the unmet medical needs of even more patients across the region."

Mr. Roy Xie, Partner at Loyal Valley Capital, said: "We are delighted to support Arctic Vision's highly promising pipeline development initiatives. Ophthalmology is one of the most competitive therapeutic areas in global drug development and there is an enormous number of opportunities in this field. We strongly resonate with Arctic Vision's vision and development strategy, which is market-oriented and innovation-driven: to identify innovative ophthalmology products that fit the specific needs of the China market through our profound knowledge of the market. ARVN003, potentially the first pharmaceutical treatment for presbyopia in China, and ARVN002, a revolutionary solution for pediatric progressive myopia, are perfect examples of this. Arctic Vision has made substantial progress during the past year, and we will maintain our support of the company to bring more innovative therapies to patients suffering from eye diseases as quickly as possible."

Regarding this investment, Mrs. Dianna Qian, Partner at Pivotal bioVenture Partners China, expressed, "The reason Pivotal bioVenture Partners and our parent company Nan Fung Life Sciences have sequentially participated in the seed, Series A and Series B financing rounds of Arctic Vision is that we have strong confidence in its management team and its growth trajectory since establishment. In just less than a year, the clinical development of the company's pipeline assets has advanced in a structured and rapid manner; the product portfolio has also expanded steadily, demonstrating the strong execution capabilities of the management team. In the upcoming year, we look forward to seeing the company achieve more opportunities to internationalize, scale up organizational presence, and gradually become a model in the ophthalmology sector, within China and even across Asia.

About Arctic Vision

Arctic Vision is a China-based clinical stage specialty ophthalmology company with a leading portfolio of breakthrough technologies. The Company's vision is to address unmet medical needs in ophthalmology with the discovery, development, and commercialization of innovative therapies in China, Asia and globally. Arctic Vision is led by an elite team of ophthalmic industry veterans with substantial and compelling R&D and commercial experience in both China and globally.

About ARVN001

ARVN001 is a proprietary suspension of the corticosteroid, triamcinolone acetonide, formulated for administration to the back of the eye via suprachoroidal injection. It is currently being investigated for the treatment of macular edema associated with uveitis. This proprietary suprachoroidal treatment approach is designed to enable rapid dispersion of medicine to the back of the eye, potentially resulting in longer-lasting therapeutic effect while minimizing any side effect to the surrounding healthy parts of the eye. 

About ARVN002 & ARVN003

ARVN002 is a proprietary microdose formulation of atropine used in the Optejet® dispenser. It is a potentially first-in-class topical treatment for the reduction of pediatric progressive myopia, also known as nearsightedness. It has been developed for comfort and ease-of-use in children, and its microdose administration is designed to potentially result in low systemic and ocular drug exposure.

ARVN003 is a proprietary pilocarpine formulation used in the Optejet® dispenser. It is a candidate for the treatment of presbyopia. The high precision microdosing technology combined with the well-known drug, pilocarpine, is expected to provide short-term improvement in patients' vision while addressing the tolerability and usability issues associated with the conventional administration of pilocarpine.

About Loyal Valley Capital

Loyal Valley Capital, founded in 2015, is a thematic, research-oriented private equity firm that has been a "partner of choice" for China's most promising companies. Loyal Valley Capital has been involved in the funding of leading players such as TikTok, Didi Chuxing, Bilibili, Junshi Biosciences, InnoCare Pharma, Akesobio, POP MART and SUPCON. 

About Octagon Capital

Founded in 2019, Octagon Capital Advisors LP is a multi-stage investment manager dedicated to evidence-based investing in both public and private healthcare companies, specifically in the United States and China. Octagon Capital focuses on strategic long-term investments and strive to work with our portfolio management teams as partners. Octagon Capital manages capital on behalf of global institutions such as university endowments, non-profit foundations, family offices, pension funds and established asset managers.

About Dr. Adrian Cheng

Dr. Adrian Cheng, pillar of the New World Development and the Chow Tai Fook, and Founder of K11, is a renowned entrepreneur and businessman that has been focused on medical and healthcare sector. He's invested in multiple well-established biopharmaceutical enterprises, such as Alphamab Oncology, Athenex, 3D Medicines, Transcenta, Cothera etc., as well as medical organizations devoted to developing innovative and quality services, such as WeDoctor and Sanbo Brain Hospital.

About Nan Fung Life Sciences (NFLS) & Pivotal bioVenture Partners China

Nan Fung Life Sciences is a global life sciences investment platform with a long-term capital commitment from the Nan Fung Group. The team possesses diverse experience with long track records in company formation, venture capital, growth/buyout investments, and drug discovery and development. For more information, please visit https://www.nanfunglifesciences.com

Pivotal bioVenture Partners China, a member of Nan Fung Life Sciences, is a venture capital firm specializing in the healthcare and life sciences industry. Its investment strategy is centered on identifying promising innovative products and technologies and bringing them to build out new companies in China. 

About Morningside Ventures

Morningside Ventures was founded in 1986 in Boston by the Chan family of Hong Kong, S.A.R., China. Since its establishment, Morningside has been focusing on trends at the forefront of the life science and healthcare industries globally, expanding its business scope and investment footprint over North America, Europe, and Greater China.