Opthea to Receive US$35M Commitment and Additional US$50M Funding

• Opthea to receive remaining US$35m funding under the Development Funding Agreement (DFA) with Carlyle and its life science franchise Abingworth, as well as a further US$50m financing under an Amended DFA to include a new co-investor

• This financing is non-dilutive to shareholders, with no equity issued to Carlyle, Abingworth or the new co-investor

• Investment driven by the potential of sozinibercept (OPT-302) to provide superior visual outcomes for wet AMD patients and to provide a multi-billion dollar commercial opportunity

MELBOURNE, Australia, Dec. 27, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Opthea Limited (ASX:OPT; NASDAQ:OPT), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapies to treat highly prevalent and progressive retinal diseases, today announced that it expects to receive the remaining US$35 million committed funds under the Development Funding Agreement (DFA) with Carlyle and Abingworth, and has entered into binding documentation with a new co-investor under an Amended DFA to secure an additional US$50 million in funding.

Under the terms of the DFA, Carlyle and Abingworth committed US$120 million, of which US$85 million has been received to date. The remaining committed funds of US$35 million and the additional US$50m announced today will be received on or around December 31, 2023, bringing the total committed funding under the amended DFA to US$170 million, the maximum amount allowed under the terms of the DFA.

Dr. Fred Guerard, Chief Executive Officer of Opthea Limited, commented, “We are extremely pleased with this funding that demonstrates investors’ confidence in sozinibercept and its potential for future clinical, regulatory and commercial success. Both global pivotal trials in wet AMD (COAST and ShORe) are now over 80% enrolled, and aim at confirming the superior efficacy outcomes observed in Opthea’s Phase 2b trial.”

This total US$85 million funding will be used to advance Opthea’s Phase 3 clinical trials and pre-commercialization activities of sozinibercept for wet AMD.

Under the terms of the DFA, if sozinibercept is approved in a major market, Opthea will make a milestone payment after regulatory approval and then six subsequent annual fixed success payments and variable success payments of 7% of net sales, with cumulative payments capped at four times the amount funded to Opthea. Opthea retains full worldwide commercial rights for sozinibercept and has the option to prepay its obligations in full at any time. The foregoing description of certain terms of the DFA is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Amended DFA, which will be separately filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.