Octane is pleased to announce that four companies have been selected to present as the LaunchPad presentations at Octane’s Ophthalmology Technology Summit that will take place virtually on August 6-8, 2020. The summit will feature key opinion leaders, top ophthalmologists and industry leaders who are determining the future of the field. These companies have been selected as the top four from over 100 applications that were received to present at the conference.
JC Ruffalo, Director of LaunchPad said “The LaunchPad company presentations at this year's OTS conference represents a major milestone for these companies and the founders. Competition for investment is fierce, so we’re doing everything in our power to equip these entrepreneurs with the resources they need to not only develop a successful technology but also to market it compellingly. The virtual aspect of OTS this year may enable our presenting entrepreneurs to reap the benefits of a larger network of investors, strategics, experts and partners, who are planning to attend OTS this year. We are excited to see what conversations ignite once the LaunchPad companies get off stage. “
LaunchPad Presenting Companies:
Cloudbreak Therapeutics- Cloudbreak Therapeutics was founded in September 2015 at Irvine, CA by three ex-Allergan executives. Our company focuses on ophthalmic drug research and development. Cloudbreak Therapeutics has multiple on-going clinical and nonclinical programs to treat various eye diseases. The leading program, CBT-001, has successfully completed Phase II clinical trial in USA to treat pterygium and is ready to proceed with global Phase III clinical trials after a successful EOP2 meeting with the FDA. CBT-001 would be the disease-modifying, first-in-class and first drug therapy to treat pterygium, a large unmet medical need, and the projected global market size is over US$1 billion.
LeoLens- Leo Lens Pharma (Leo Lens) is an emerging San Diego-based pharmaceutical company focused on helping protect sight. Using its proprietary MediPrint™ process, the Company will commercialize a drug-eluting, comfort-enhancing therapeutic contact lens to treat millions of patients worldwide. While eye drops have been around for over 40 years and remain the standard of care for over 90% of patients, they have only around a 50% compliance rate. This leads millions to suffer from disease progression. Leo Lens is currently focused on advancing its lead asset, a unique glaucoma treatment, to the clinic while continuing to build out its product pipeline.
Optify- They are eyewear industry and software execs building e-commerce software (SaaS) to help optometrists thrive in the digital age.
30k+ independent optometrists distributed over 16k practices in the USA alone continue to write Rx’s each year for the vast majority of 225M eyeglass wearers. That number is increasing annually. Through Rx’s they write, they have direct access to an annual $14Bn USA frame/lens market.
They are leveraging the software and patented tech that we’ve built and successfully deployed. They are extending this platform to all optometrists to sell any optical frame/brand with Rx lenses online. E-commerce has lagged for various industry specific reasons--including in-network insurance, proper measurements, etc.
Phileas Pharma- Phileas is a transformative biotech company developing proprietary inhibitors of the isoforms of TGF-β to treat age-related diseases with an initial focus on ophthalmology and fibrotic diseases using antisense oligonucleotides. Building on 2 decades of cumulative experience, Phileas has the only team ready to hit the road running with a complete development blueprint. Our upcoming Institute of Vision collaboration represents a scientific validation of our approach, while reducing capital needs. Phileas plans to exit before commercialization, a major business opportunity in the context of the expanding M&A RNA therapeutic market. The company is currently raising a $1.5M seed round.