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Eric Ng

Hong Kong could be one of the first jurisdictions to use a novel treatment for diabetics suffering from a potentially blinding disease if a Swiss start-up’s drug is approved.
OCS-01, an eye drop developed by Oculis Holding and currently under phase 3 trials for diabetic macular edema (DME), can be an alternative to a medication that is injected into the eye, according to Riad Sherif, CEO of the firm, whose shares are listed in the US and Iceland.
The injection is invasive and shunned by many early-stage patients, according to Sherif, a former president for Europe, Middle East and Africa at Alcon, a Swiss-American pharmaceutical and medical device company specialising in eye care.
“Few patients are treated early because they don’t want to have the monthly injections,” he said. “Two-thirds of people with DME globally are not treated [at all].”


Only 60 per cent of DME patients saw improvements after receiving the injections, he added.
The high blood sugar level in DME patients weakens retinal blood vessels, causing swelling of tissues in the central part of the retina that often results in blurred or double vision. Retinal damage because of diabetes is the leading cause of blindness among the working-age population in developed nations.
Early treatment is important because even in the best-case outcome, where patients strictly adhere to the injection-treatment regime and respond well, they can only regain half their lost visual acuity.
Global sales of DME treatment drugs could grow to US$7.5 billion by 2034 from US$5.4 billion last year, according to a forecast by New York-based market research firm IMARC Group.
Nearly 700,000 people in Hong Kong, or 9.3 per cent of the city’s population, are diabetic, according to official data. An estimated 11 per cent of diabetics develop DME, according to a research paper published in the Hong Kong Journal of Ophthalmology in 2017.
“The prevalence of DME in Hong Kong is high, partly due to an ageing population,” Sherif said, adding that diabetics can reduce their chances of developing the disease if they carefully manage their diabetes with diet, exercise and monitoring.
OCS-01 could potentially give patients a more tolerable treatment earlier in the progression of DME, resulting in better outcome, he said, adding it is the world’s only DME topical treatment candidate to reach phase 3 trials.
It can potentially eliminate risks associated with injections such as haemorrhage and vitreous detachment, where the gel that fills the eye separates from the retina, Sherif said.
Investors in Oculis include Nan Fung Life Sciences, the Hong Kong government’s Innovation and Technology Venture Fund, BVCF Management and Pivotal Bioventure Partners.
The biopharmaceutical company is conducting two phase 3 trials – each involving 350 patients – across the United States, Argentina, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The recruitment in Hong Kong of some 20 to 30 subjects has been facilitated by ophthalmologists Guy Chen Lijia from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Nicholas Fung Siu-kay from the University of Hong Kong.
Early results showed that on average, 100 patients receiving the eyedrops were able to read 7.6 more characters in the Snellen eye-test chart after three months of treatment, compared with 3.7 additional letters among 48 patients getting a placebo. Nearly 28 per cent of those getting the eyedrops could read at least more 15 letters, compared with 7.5 per cent in the placebo group.
The effectivenss of the eye drops was shown to be identical to the current injection treatment after three months of use, according to Sherif.
The complete trial results are expected in early 2026, with regulatory approval in the US possible in the first half of 2027, he said.
“We are optimistic the [application] file we have with the US Food and Drug Administration is pretty solid and it should allow us to go to the maximum number of jurisdictions for approval,” he said. “Hong Kong will be one of the first to receive this product.”
Chief financial officer Sylvia Cheung said the pricing of the OCS-01 eyedrops is expected to be lower but not significantly less than the current injection treatment.
Oculis also plans to use Hong Kong as a hub for marketing its products in Asia, she added.


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Oculis’ OCS-01 eye drops, currently in phase 3 trials for diabetic macular edema, can be an alternative to injection, CEO says


Oculis’ OCS-01 eye drops, currently in phase 3 trials for diabetic macular edema, can be an alternative to injection, CEO says.
