Eyedrops Instead of Reading Glasses – Company Begins Ph IIb Trial

Orasis Pharmaceuticals LTD., a clinical stage pharmaceutical company developing a corrective eye drop for the treatment of presbyopia as an alternative to reading glasses, announced on 3/27/19 the initiation of a  Phase 2b clinical study  in the U.S. evaluating CSF-1 for the treatment of presbyopia.

“We are excited to initiate the Phase 2b clinical trial evaluating our corrective eye drop as it marks a key milestone in its clinical development,” said Elad Kedar, chief executive officer of Orasis. “CSF-1 has the potential to restore near-vison and offer an alternative to current treatment options, which are either cumbersome or invasive. We look forward to sharing the results from this study in the near future as we advance the development of CSF-1 in the clinic for the treatment of presbyopia, a condition that affects more than 1.8 billion people worldwide.”

The company claims that, “CSF-1 is designed to improve near visual acuity by pupil modulation, resulting in a “pinhole effect” and an increase in the depth of field, thus increasing the ability to focus on near objects.”

Orasis has received funding from a number of experienced life science and healthcare investors including the ophthalmology focused venture capital fund Visionary Ventures, Sequoia Capital, SBI (Japan) Innovation Fund, LifeSci Venture Partners, Maverick Ventures Israel, and other private investors. The company raised $13 million in Series B financing in June of 2018. Orasis is based in Herzliya, Israel.