Sight Sciences Raises $56M of Growth Capital to Lead the Development of the Standalone MIGS Market and Procedure-Based Dry Eye Market
Sight Sciences, Inc., a growth-stage medical device company transforming the two fastest growing segments in ophthalmology and optometry, glaucoma and dry eye disease, today announced the closing of $31 million in Series D Preferred Stock financing led by KCK Group, a leading investor in high growth medical technology companies. MidCap Financial, a prominent middle-market lender to healthcare companies that is managed by Apollo Capital Management, L.P., and has over $20 billion of commitments under management, also participated in the equity raise. MidCap and Sight Sciences entered into a $25 million debt facility earlier in 2019. The $56 million of total financing proceeds are being used to accelerate the growth of the OMNI® Surgical System and TearCare® System in the United States, to develop a global commercial infrastructure in select international markets, to conduct additional clinical trials across the entire product portfolio, and to develop a pipeline of innovations in new ophthalmic categories.
“Sight Sciences has created one of the most innovative approaches to surgical glaucoma in decades,” said Valeska Schroeder, Managing Director of KCK Medical Technologies Group. “It became clear in our diligence that surgeons across the United States are rapidly adopting OMNI® as their preferred MIGS device. By targeting all three sources of outflow resistance in the conventional outflow pathway, OMNI® is uniquely capable of opening up the highly anticipated and substantial ‘Standalone MIGS’ market. KCK is also excited about Sight Sciences’ recent launch of TearCare®, the only wearable, open-eye device in the underserved and rapidly emerging evaporative dry eye space. KCK is looking forward to partnering with Sight Sciences as they lead the development and expansion of these two rapidly emerging markets.”
“We could not be more thrilled than to have KCK as our lead growth equity investor and MidCap as our debt capital provider,” said Jesse Selnick, Chief Financial Officer of Sight Sciences. “KCK’s unmatched breadth of high growth medtech investment and operating experience, which includes successful and disruptive market development work, is truly the perfect match for where we are in our Company’s evolution. We look forward to long and successful partnerships with our key stakeholders and to continue upon the substantial commercial and product development progress Sight Sciences has made over the past year.”
“The OMNI® Surgical System has had great success in the established MIGS market in combination with cataract surgery and its use is expanding organically and quickly into Standalone MIGS,” added Shawn O’Neil, Chief Commercial Officer of Sight Sciences. “On the vision care side of the business, the early, yet substantial, market receptivity for TearCare® implies a solid product-market fit and compelling demand in the underserved and rapidly emerging evaporative dry eye space. We’re looking forward to successfully developing and leading the Standalone MIGS market and Procedure-Based Dry Eye market with this growth capital infusion and partnership with KCK.”
Upon closing, Valeska Schroeder has joined Sight Sciences’ Board of Directors together with co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Paul Badawi, co-founder Dr. David Badawi, Staffan Encrantz of Allegro Investment Fund, Mack Hicks of Hicks Holdings and Carter Meyer of Scientific Health Development.
About Sight Sciences
Founded in 2011, Sight Sciences has developed, and is now commercial with intelligently designed and engineered products that target the underlying causes of the world’s most prevalent eye diseases. The Company’s surgical glaucoma product portfolio features the OMNI® Surgical System, a dually-indicated device that facilitates the performance of both trabeculotomy and transluminal viscoelastic delivery. Using proprietary multi-modal functionality, OMNI® allows surgeons to target of all three sources of resistance in the conventional outflow pathway (trabecular meshwork, Schlemm’s canal, and collector channels) with a single device and single corneal incision.
The Company’s non-surgical Dry Eye product portfolio consists of TearCare® for ophthalmologists and optometrists. TearCare® is a software-controlled, wearable eyelid technology that delivers highly targeted and adjustable heat to the meibomian glands of the eyelids. Leveraging the full functionality of the blinking eye, proprietary SmartLid™ technology is designed to facilitate natural meibum expression when meibum is in its softened phase. TearCare’s innovative, “equipment-light” product design and the intuitive procedure it facilitates create a highly attractive clinical and economic model for eye care providers.
For more information, please visit sightsciences.com.
About TearCare®
The TearCare® System is indicated for the application of localized heat when the current medical community recommends the application of a warm compress to the eyelids. Such applications would include Meibomian Gland Dysfunction (MGD), Dry Eye, or Blepharitis.
About OMNI® Surgical System
The OMNI® Surgical System is a manually operated device for delivery of small amounts of viscoelastic fluid, for example Healon® or HealonGV® from Abbott Medical Optics (AMO), Amvisc® from Bausch & Lomb, or PROVISC® from Alcon, during ophthalmic surgery. It is also indicated to cut trabecular meshwork tissue during trabeculotomy procedures.
The OMNI® System should not be used in cases where there is insufficient visualization of the anterior chamber. The following conditions may prohibit sufficient visualization required for safe and successful cannula and microcatheter placement: corneal edema, corneal haze, corneal opacity, or any other conditions that may inhibit surgeon view.
The OMNI® Surgical System is a tool, not a treatment, and is indicated for use as specified above; it is not specifically cleared by the FDA to lower intraocular pressure in patients with open angle glaucoma.
TearCare® and OMNI® are registered trademarks of Sight Sciences.
© 2019 Sight Sciences. All rights reserved.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Kelly Bassett
Whistle Communications/Schaefer Advertising for Sight Sciences
kelly@whistlepr.com
214-403-8472