OptiNose Completes Series C-1 Financing

YARDLEY, Pa., Aug. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- OptiNose, a specialty pharmaceutical company, announced today that it has completed a Series C-1 round of financing led by existing investors. Since obtaining Series C financing in 2010, OptiNose has successfully developed AVP-825, a product that, once approved, will be used for the treatment of migraines. OptiNose out-licensed the North American marketing rights for AVP-825 to a partner and jointly submitted a New Drug Application with the U.S. FDA earlier this year. In parallel with that program, OptiNose has actively pursued the significantly larger development program of OPN-375, a new product with applications in the treatment of serious chronic nasal inflammatory diseases.

Sriram Venkataraman, a director of OptiNose and a partner at Avista Capital Partners, said, "We are pleased with the progress of the clinical development programs to date and are committed to supporting the OptiNose team further as they execute on their clinical and commercial priorities, especially the development of the major new product OPN-375."

"With this latest round of financing, we are well-positioned to take the actions necessary to maximize the potential of our second product, OPN-375, which we believe will be a transformational breakthrough product in a large market with significant unmet need," said Peter Miller, Chief Executive Officer of OptiNose. "I am proud of the OptiNose team and the progress we have made together to date. I am also very excited about the future, as we continue late-phase clinical research, prepare commercial supply chain, and engage in pre-commercialization efforts around OPN-375."

About OPN-375

OPN-375 uses OptiNose's patented technology to deliver a highly effective and well-understood topical steroid medication (fluticasone) into the nasal cavity in a deeply distributed manner that improves upon prior approaches to intranasal drug delivery. Available data, including two published Phase II trials, suggest that OPN-375 has the potential to be a breakthrough product that could be transformational in the treatment of serious chronic nasal inflammatory diseases like chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps. A global late-phase clinical program for nasal polyps, comparable in scale to that required for a new molecular entity and enrolling over 1,500 patients, is underway. Enrollment is ongoing or completed in all planned trials. OptiNose is also working to ensure that other critical enablers of future OPN-375 product success, including a launch-ready supply chain and other appropriate pre-commercial efforts, are in place to bring the product to market immediately following regulatory review.

About OptiNose

OptiNose is a specialty pharmaceutical company built around a unique nasal delivery platform. The company is driven by an experienced, world-class team with expertise including drug and device development, product manufacturing and commercialization. OptiNose is focused on using its patented technology to identify and develop reduced-risk assets that create significant commercial value by offering meaningful new clinical benefits to patients and healthcare systems. The OptiNose closed-palate

Bi-Directional™ Breath Powered™ technology platform provides dramatically enhanced delivery of drug into the nasal cavity compared to current approaches. When used to deliver select medications for diseases where this type of delivery is important to targeting, efficacy or safety, this innovative technology platform can be a critical enabler for the development of valuable new products. OptiNose has an exciting pipeline of these assets for the treatment of diseases with significant unmet need. OptiNose was founded in 2000 and has corporate offices in Yardley, PA (USA), Oslo, Norway, and the United Kingdom.

Investors in OptiNose include Avista Capital Partners, WFD Ventures LLC and Entrepreneurs Fund LP. For more information, please visit www.optinose.com.

About Avista Capital Partners

Avista Capital Partners is a leading private equity firm with approximately $6 billion under management and offices in New York, Houston and London. Founded in 2005, Avista makes controlling or influential minority investments in growth-oriented energy, healthcare, communications & media, industrials, and consumer businesses. Through its team of seasoned investment professionals and industry experts, Avista seeks to partner with exceptional management teams to invest in and add value to well-positioned businesses.

SOURCE OptiNose