Eyenovia rises as William Blair initiates coverage with 'outperform' rating

Formosa Pharmaceuticals

01/11/2023 15:53

** Shares of eye drugmaker Eyenovia Inc  EYEN.O  rise 
12.30% to $1.45
    ** William Blair initiates coverage on co with "outperform",
eyeing better delivery of ophthalmic therapies
    ** EYEN is developing therapies based on its Optejet device,
which allows consistent reproducible dosing of eye drugs
  **  In May, co secured the approval of its pupil-dilating
spray MydCombi 
  ** "While we anticipate this market initially to be limited
for Eyenovia, the approval validates the Optejet drug-device and
enables further development of pipeline therapies on the
platform" - brokerage
    ** Co recently in-licensed U.S. rights to APP13007 from
Taiwan based Formosa Pharmaceuticals  6838.TWO ; it is a 
topical steroid for use after ocular surgery and currently under
FDA review with the action date of March 4
    ** Brokerage also sees significant partnering opportunity
for co with larger eye care players that are looking to develop
differentiated therapies for glaucoma, dry eye disease, and
post-op therapies following cataract surgery
    ** Stock down ~10% YTD

 (Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru)
 ((Sriparna.Roy@thomsonreuters.com;))