Sight Sciences Secures $30M Series E Funding to Advance Innovative Ophthalmic Therapies

Paul Badawi is the founder and CEO of Sight Sciences, Inc. He and the company’s Chief Technology Officer, Dr. David Badawi, are both associated with the OMNI Glaucoma Treatment System, the VISCO360 Viscoelastic Delivery System, the TRAB360 Trabeculotomy System, and Helix Co-inventor of Microstent and TearCare. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences from the University of Chicago and a Master of Business Administration from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Prior to founding Sight Sciences, Paul led the U.S. healthcare venture capital business for 3i Group, a global private equity firm. At 3i, Paul managed a portfolio of 12 medical device companies and $120 million in investments.

In addition, he is a major investor and board member of Ulthera (acquired by Merz), Xthetix (acquired by Johnson & Johnson), NeoGuide (acquired by Intuitive Surgical), OmniGuide, and Sotera Wireless, and serves as an observer on the boards of directors of Small Bone Innovations (acquired by Stryker), Zonare (acquired by Mindray), and Transmedics.

Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer David Badawi earned a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology from the University of Maryland, a Doctor of Medicine degree from Georgetown University, completed his ophthalmology residency at the Jules Stein Eye Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, and received a cornea fellowship at Emory University.

David Badawi leads the company’s technological applications and development in the treatment of ophthalmic diseases. He also oversees the preclinical and clinical development of each of the company’s products.

Of course, for a medical device company, having technology alone is far from sufficient. Therefore, Sight Sciences has also recruited several industry executives to drive the company’s growth.

In July 2019, Jessica Holmes, Brian Regan, and Jim Sluck joined the company as Vice President of Health Policy and Reimbursement, Vice President of Strategy and Professional Relations, and Vice President of Dry Eye Marketing, respectively. These three industry veterans will bring specialized leadership expertise to the management teams for directly related products and end markets.

Despite the widespread recognition of the OMNI Glaucoma Treatment System within the ophthalmology community following its official launch, Sight Sciences remains unsatisfied with the status quo. The company continues to enhance and improve the OMNI system while simultaneously developing products aimed at transforming the treatment paradigm for another common eye condition: dry eye disease.

On May 2, 2019, Sight Sciences officially launched the enhanced next-generation OMNI System and TearCare.

Based on observations of the real-world market performance of the next-generation OMNI System, and under the specific guidance of Dr. Reay Brown, a world-renowned glaucoma expert, innovator in surgical instrumentation, and Chief Medical Officer at Sight Sciences, improvements have been made to the product’s ease of use, ergonomics, and aesthetics compared to its predecessor.

TearCare’s innovative “equipment-light” product design and intuitive workflow offer a highly compelling clinical and economic model for eye care.

Dry eye disease has two etiologies: aqueous deficiency and excessive evaporation. Among these, the number of patients with evaporative dry eye is rising rapidly, creating an urgent need for ophthalmic healthcare professionals to adopt a novel therapeutic approach for managing dry eye disease.

Chief Business Officer Shawn O'Neil stated, “We are delighted to launch these two innovative products, which have the potential to transform how surgeons and eye care professionals treat the underlying causes of the world’s two most common eye diseases.”

In recent years, Sight Sciences has conducted product showcases, demonstrations, and events at many of the eye care industry’s upcoming top-tier exhibitions, including those for visual source exchange, the annual meetings of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery / American Society of Ophthalmic Administrators (ASCRS/ASOA), and the annual meeting of the American Optometric Association (AOA).

Over the next two decades, the incidence of dry eye disease and glaucoma is highly likely to rise rapidly, driven by increased screen time on computers and mobile phones, which significantly reduces blink frequency.

Fortunately, as prevalence increases, the healthcare industry will gradually place greater emphasis on this condition, and its treatment will evolve toward a more standardized approach.

Currently, only 2% to 3% of dry eye disease cases receive standardized treatment, and with the continuous advancement of medical technology, this proportion is certain to increase significantly.

Leveraging wearable devices to deliver highly targeted and effective treatments while gradually reducing surgical risks will slowly emerge as a new therapeutic approach in the industry.

Shawn O’Neil, Chief Commercial Officer of Sight Sciences, stated: “First and foremost, our surgical and vision care teams fully recognize the clinical value that our breakthrough products deliver to our MD and OD customers. We have established a robust market presence in the practice areas of glaucoma treatment (OMNI) and dry eye disease treatment (TearCare), supported by two independent, specialized sales and marketing teams. In the coming months, we will launch next-generation products and further accelerate the market adoption of OMNI. Over the next few years, as we deepen our penetration into these rapidly growing markets, our goal is to become one of the top-performing companies in the broader ophthalmology and medical technology sectors.”