Opthea’s options may be shrinking as the eye disease biotech comes to terms with a pair of phase 3 failures, but the company isn’t quite ready to give up.
The Australian company’s plans came apart back in March when sozinibercept, an inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factors C and D, came up short against Regeneron’s blockbuster Eylea in a late-stage trial. Days later, Opthea reported that sozinibercept failed to beat Roche’s Lucentis in another phase 3 study.
By April, Opthea was planning to lay off 65% of its staff, with “a limited number of employees” expected to be kept on “to ensure the compliant termination of clinical trial activities and oversee administration operations.”
In a post-market update from the company Aug. 18, Opthea revealed that the real level of layoffs reached 85%.
The company had another headache looming in the form a 2023 deal with investors, who had retained the right to terminate their funding agreement with the biotech if the phase 3 trials missed their primary endpoints. But, in yesterday’s release, Opthea said it had finally resolved this financial dispute. It means that not only is Opthea still solvent for the time being, but it has $20 million left in the bank once the investors have been paid off.
With the investor deal finalized and the biotech’s clinical work all wrapped up, Opthea said CEO Fred Guerard, Chief Financial Officer Tom Reilly and Director Sujal Shah are all stepping down.
What remains of the company will be helmed by Chairman Jeremy Levin and tasked with a six-month strategic review. In this process, the company will weigh the viability of further in-house development, securing partnerships or returning the remaining capital to shareholders.