Sean Ianchulev
Analyst · H.C. Wainwright. Please proceed with your question
Thank you, Michael. At this point, I would like to provide a brief update on our clinical programs before turning the call over to John to review the financials. Taking a step back, for those of you who may be new to our story, Optejet is an obvious proprietary microdosing technology designed for optimal drug delivery to the eye. It's utilized as microdose array print technology, similar to an inkjet printer and horizontal delivery to administer a physiological compatible dose to the cornea of the eye. Studies show that conventional eye drops can overdose the eye by as much as fourfold, leading to unwanted side effects and unnecessary exposure to access drug and preservatives that can be harmful. The Optejet has been shown to achieve comparable efficacy to start on eye drops and doses that are approximately 75% less medication. We believe both patients and clinicians are comfortable using the Optejet. Prior studies found that 95% of clinicians and 88% of patients were able to successfully administer medication using Optejet on very first attempt. This compares very favorably to eyedroppers, where multiple published studies have shown that fewer than half of users are able to administer medication successfully on first attempt. Importantly, the Optejet was designed with no protruding parts, and cannot touch the ocular surface. These are among the Optejet's important differentiators, particularly in the age of COVID-19, given the ease with which the infection has spread. Last quarter, I summarized just a few of the publications highlighting the risk of COVID spread in an ophthalmology or an optometry examination room. The standard of care eyedropper was found to touch the ocular surface more than 50% of the time, and in the typical clinician's office, for example, a standard eyedropper for dilating drops may be used on literally dozens of different patients. This presents risk for cross-contamination and an important issue that must be addressed by clinicians against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Optejet has a recessed delivery aperture, as well as non-gravity driven horizontal spray dispensation, which is designed for a more distant misdelivery. In addition, we reported last quarter that the Optejet appears to be qualified for preservative free multidosing. So, we believe the Optejet could address the cross-contamination risk associated with shared droppers, while also replacing therapeutics that are delivered in single-dose packaging, thereby cutting down on cost and waste. Let's turn to our two clinical programs, MicroStat for pharmacologic Mydriasis and MicroLine for presbyopia. Beginning with MicroStat or so-called Mydcombi, going forward, based on our two positive Phase 3 clinical trials: MIST-1 and MIST-2, we continue to work towards submission of an NDA by the end of this year. Pharmacologic Mydriasis refers to the dilation of the pupil that is part of any comprehensive eye exam. It is estimated that the 80 million office-based comprehensive and diabetic eye exams and 4 million of tonic surgical dilations performed annually in the United States, and Pharmacologic Mydriasis is essential for diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, and the retina disease screening. Mydcombi was found to achieve Mydriasis of greater than six millimeters in 93% of patients at 35 minutes post-dose. This is clinically meaningful for both office retinal exam, as well as surgical dilation. If approved, Mydcombi would be our first commercial product, a critical milestone for Eyenovia. Mydcombi will introduce physicians and patients to the Optejet dispenser, and potentially generate incremental interest in the Optejet for additional therapeutics. We believe this is an approximately $250 million market in the U.S. alone based on in-office and cataract surgery statistics. Finally, we could not be more excited about our Phase 3 MicroLine program for the improvement in near vision in people with presbyopia. Presbyopia, which is the non-preventable age-related hardening of the ocular lens causing the gradual loss of the eyes' ability to focus on nearby objects, affects an estimated $130 million people in the U.S., and hundreds of millions more in China, where we've already licensed the product to Arctic Vision. We believe that there are 31 million people in the U.S. who've found the sweet spot in the market for pharmacologic treatment of presbyopia, mainly those adults between the ages of 40 and 60, who otherwise never had to wear glasses before. We anticipate initiating the VISION 1 studies this year. We're the first to create the Phase 3 data sometime around the end of Q1 of 2021 subject to any impact of COVID. There is a growing interest in drug treatment for presbyopia. Currently the only option for dealing with presbyopia, are eyeglasses, contact lenses, or surgery. Our own market research showed high interest among our targeted market for a drug treatment that could provide on-demand improvement in near vision. MicroLine would be a companion product to eyeglasses for those times when patients would prefer not to wear eyeglasses. The market potential for an on-demand improvement in near vision may be significant. In the U.S. alone we estimate this opportunity to be an excess of $2 billion. Our VISION program will test two different doses of pilocarpine, a compound with efficacy and improving near vision was validated once again when Oregon announced positive data from its clinical trials in presbyopia a few weeks ago. What sets us apart in my opinion is the Optejet. If MicroLine is approved, we believe our technology will facilitate accurate and targeted dispensing of pilocarpine without overdosing BI as is common with conventional eyedroppers; a century-old technology used to administer other company's therapists. We believe the increased portability, comfort, and safety offered by the Optejet will be among key differentiators as our development program advances. I'd now like to turn the call over to John to review our financials. John?