Clearside Biomedical Enters Into Financing Agreement with HealthCare Royalty Partners

Clearside Biomedical announced it has entered into an agreement with HealthCare Royalty Partners in a deal worth up to $65 million.

The money received from the deal will be put to use by Clearside to fund the ongoing clinical testing of its product line, including CLS-AX (axitinib injectable suspension), which is administered via suprachoroidal injection using the company's SCS Microinjector.

According to the deal, Clearside will receive an initial payment of $32.5 million, less certain expenses. At the same time, an additional $12.5 million will be paid into an escrow account and held there until Clearside reaches a predetermined sales milestone for the suprachoroidal usage drug Xipere (triamcinolone acetonide injectable suspension).

Clearside will also receive a $20 million extra milestone payment after Xipere reaches a second predetermined sales milestone in 2024.

In exchange for the payments described above, HealthCare Royalty will receive all royalties and milestone payments owed to Clearside by Xipere and certain SCS Microinjector license agreements, up to 2.5 times the total purchase price HealthCare Royalty paid under the agreement; the cap may be raised in certain situations.

“The approval and launch of our first commercial product, Xipere, provides the opportunity to access this meaningful non-dilutive capital which adds financial flexibility as we advance our development pipeline,” George Lasezkay, PharmD, JD, Clearside’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said in a company news release. “We are pleased to partner with HealthCare Royalty to support the funding of further clinical trials of CLS-AX, our proprietary small molecule suspension of the tyrosine kinase inhibitor, axitinib, delivered suprachoroidally by our SCS Microinjector.”

“We are pleased to partner with Clearside Biomedical to support their platform delivering therapies to the back of the eye through the suprachoroidal space,” said Clarke Futch, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of HealthCare Royalty. “Our investment reflects our belief in the strong value of Clearside’s SCS injection platform and XIPERE, the first approved therapeutic delivered into the suprachoroidal space. This underscores our mission to facilitate innovation by high growth biopharmaceutical companies globally.”

The transaction is expected to close in within this month.