On March 3, the ophthalmic drug development company Oculis was listed on the US Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker OCS, simultaneously raising approximately 15 billion ISK in new equity. This week, the company celebrated the listing by ringing the bell at Nasdaq in New York during a ceremonial event.
The European investment fund LSP 7, an approximately one billion dollar fund in the life sciences sector and the largest of its kind in Europe, led a group of investors in the equity increase. Other existing investors in Oculis include Earlybird, Novartis Venture Fund, Pivotal bioVenture Partners, Tekla Capital Management, and VI Partners.
New Icelandic investors joining as shareholders include mutual funds, pension funds, insurance companies, and investment firms. Other Icelandic investors who were already part of Oculis' shareholder group are Brunnur Growth Fund, which is primarily owned by pension funds, and the investment firm Silfurberg. These investors led Oculis' initial seed funding (Series A) in 2016.
Arctica Finance acted as an advisor in connection with the investment by Icelandic parties in the share offering.
