NEW YORK – Ocugen on Wednesday entered a $30 million credit facility with Avenue Venture Opportunities Fund, which the drugmaker will use to develop gene therapies in its pipeline for treating eye disorders and for general corporate purposes.
The credit facility was fully funded upon closing and has a four-year term, the Malvern, Pennsylvania-based firm said in a statement on Thursday. The financing is part of Ocugen's "diversified strategy to fund the business and appropriately allocate resources across the portfolio," the company added.
Ocugen's most advanced investigational gene therapy is OCU400, currently undergoing testing in the Phase III liMeliGhT trial involving retinitis pigmentosa patients who are at least 8 years old. The study will test the activity of the therapy specifically in those with RHO gene mutations and in patients regardless of the genetic mutation driving their disease.
The firm is also conducting Phase I/II trials of OCU400 in CEP290-mutated Leber congenital amaurosis; OCU410 in dry age-related macular degeneration; and OCU410ST in Stargardt disease.
"This additional working capital will support the clinical development of our three, first-in-class modifier gene therapies and provide adequate funding to near completion of the OCU400 Phase III liMeliGhT clinical trial and prepare for the [biologics license application] and [marketing authorization application] submissions," Ocugen CEO, Cofounder, and Chairman Shankar Musunuri said in a statement.
The net proceeds from this credit facility plus the cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash Ocugen currently holds will fund operations into the first quarter of 2026, the company said.
Chardan and Titan Partners Group, a division of American Capital Partners, were Ocugen's financial advisers on the transaction.