Oculis Prices $110 Million Financing to Accelerate Privosegtor Development

Oculis announced the pricing of offerings of an aggregate of 5,432,098 of its ordinary shares at a price of $20.25 per share for total gross proceeds of $110 million. 

The net proceeds from the financing will be used to advance and accelerate the development of its novel neuroprotective clinical candidate, Privosegtor in acute optic neuritis (AON) and non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), as well as for working capital and general corporate purposes.

Earlier this month, Oculis announced it will advance Privosegtor into a registrational development program following a positive meeting with the FDA.

Privosegtor, a new peptoid small molecule, is designed to become the first neuroprotective therapy for acute optic neuritis (AON) and non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION)—two rare, vision-threatening neuro-ophthalmic diseases with no approved neuroprotective treatments.

Based on FDA feedback, Oculis will initiate the PIONEER program later this year, comprising three pivotal trials to support registration plans for Privosegtor in AON and NAION:

• PIONEER-1 (AON) – Launching in Q4 2025

• PIONEER-2 (AON) – Planned for 1H 2026

• PIONEER-3 (NAION) – Expected start in mid-2026

The PIONEER-1 and PIONEER-2 studies will evaluate Privosegtor after the acute onset of optic neuritis in patients with and without multiple sclerosis (MS). Both trials will use low-contrast visual acuity (LCVA) at 3 months as the primary endpoint. The study design builds upon the successful phase 2 ACUITY trial, which demonstrated improvement in visual function and structural retinal preservation in AON patients.