UPDATE: Eevia Health Plc partners up to enter the 5-billion-euro eye-health market
In an earlier press release on June 27, Eevia Health Plc (”Eevia” or ”The Company”) announced the mutual intent to partner with a Global Market Leader (GML) in eye health. Eevia wishes now to provide the marketplace with an update. Eevia has recently asked the GML to move forward and to commit within October to supporting the costs for the planned safety study of Retinari™ with cash upfront payments and in-kind support. The GML has written today that they are not ready to invest cash but wishes to keep the communication line open to evaluate a co-investment and a commercial agreement continuously. Eevia will meet in-person with key executives of the GML in Las Vegas this week and will communicate a willingness to continue the intent to assess a commercial collaboration at a later stage but will also state to the GML that Eevia wishes to stand free to seek support from other market players if needed. Hence, the communication lines will remain open, but the exclusivity of the dialogue will now be lifted, and Eevia will pitch the eye-health pipeline product to others (see announcement earlier today about presentation at investor event).
The Parties have been discussing the possible commercial involvement of the GML in the development and launch of Retinari™. The GML has a global reach with an annual turnover of EUR 4.5 billion. When launched, Retinari™ will target the prevention of the onset or progression of Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of blindness in the elderly population.
Eevia expects a decision from Business Finland in early November for an R&D loan application of MEUR 1,1, of which a significant part is earmarked for the Retinari™ safety study. To support the positive outcome of a Business Finland decision, Eevia asked the GML in mid-September to commit to co-funding the safety study with cash and providing in-kind support within October.
In a written answer today, the GML stated they need more time to commit to cash investment. However, they would like to continue evaluating the option to collaborate in a market launch and indicated that they can provide in-kind support. Eevia will meet the key executives of the GML in Las Vegas this week and will communicate a willingness to continue the dialogue with the intent to discuss commercial agreements later. Still, it wishes to stand free to seek collaboration with other potential go-to-market partner candidates.
If funding is achieved during November and the safety study (toxicology test panels, etc.) can be commenced in November-December, it will last until the end of 2025. If concluded successfully, the safety study would enable human consumption of the product, including human clinical studies.
"It is necessary for Eevia Health to receive external non-dilutive funding to progress the Retinari™ project, which is a game-changing eye health prophylactic, towards market launch. Eevia is working to secure other supplemental funding options, including commercial partners, to strengthen the initiation of the safety study. Other than funding, we are immediately ready to proceed with the project. The product has huge societal, individual, and commercial impact potential.” says Stein Ulve, Eevia's CEO.
For further information, please contact:
Stein Ulve, CEO, Eevia Health Plc
Email: stein.ulve@eeviahealth.com or investor@eeviahealth.com
Telephone: +358 400 22 5967
This disclosure contains information that EEVIA HEALTH PLC must make public under the EU Market Abuse Regulation (EU nr 596/2014). The information was submitted for publication through the contact person's agency on October 29, 2024, at 10:30 CET.
INFORMATION ABOUT EEVIA HEALTH PLC
Eevia Health Plc, founded in March 2017, addresses significant health problems with bioactive compounds extracted from plant materials. The materials are primarily wild harvested from the pristine Finnish and Swedish forests near or above the Arctic Circle. The extracts are sold B2B as ingredients to dietary supplements and food brands globally, and these global brands utilize the ingredients in their consumer product formulas.
Eevia Health manufactures 100% organically certified plant extracts. Although a significant product, Elderberry extract, is made from cultivated berries, most of Eevia's other raw materials, such as bilberry, lingonberry, Chaga mushroom, and pine bark, are wild-harvested sustainably.
Eevia Health operates a modern green-chemistry production facility in Finland. Manufacturing natural ingredients near the raw material harvest areas, Eevia offers a short value chain with an environmentally friendly carbon footprint, competitive pricing, and extreme transparency. In June 2021, Eevia listed its shares on the Spotlight Stock Market in Sweden under the short name (ticker) EEVIA.
To learn more, please visit www.eeviahealth.com or follow Eevia Health on LinkedIn@EeviaHealth.
