WAYNE, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Safeguard Scientifics, Inc. (NYSE: SFE), a holding company that builds value in growth-stage life sciences and technology companies, today announced that it led a $45 million financing for Roanoke, VA-based PixelOptics, a medical technology company. The financing is comprised of $35 million in equity, of which Safeguard provided $25 million, and $10 million in venture debt. Syndicate partners for the equity financing include Delphi Ventures, The Carlyle Group, Longitude Capital, and Stark Investments, all of which participated in prior financing rounds; Horizon Technology Finance provided the venture debt. Proceeds will be used for working capital to launch and commercialize the company’s product emPower!, the world’s first and only electronically-focusing prescription eyewear.
emPower! represents the most significant technological advance in prescription eyewear in the last 50 years. The world’s first electronic corrective eyeglasses, emPower! features the most advanced electronic innovations and substantially reduces or eliminates the perceived distortion and other limitations associated with multifocal lenses. Initially targeted for those individuals with presbyopia, a condition where the eye exhibits a progressively diminished ability to focus on near objects with age, these glasses change automatically to enable a patient to see near or far. emPower! will be prescribed by eye care professionals (ECPs) and will be initially sold in practitioner offices.
Nearly 1.8 billion people worldwide suffer from presbyopia, a degenerative eye condition that will affect virtually all adults over the age of 51. Treatment options include corrective lenses, multifocal contacts and surgery. Progressive addition lenses, one of the most common treatments for presbyopia, generate an estimated $13 billion per year on over 50 million pairs sold. The presbyopic market represents 50% of the global optical lens market, and is projected to increase with the aging of the population.
“Safeguard remains steadfast in the execution of our strategic game plan — to deploy capital in new, high-potential businesses, build value in our partner companies, and realize value through well-timed exits,” said Peter J. Boni, President and CEO of Safeguard Scientifics. “Our partnership with PixelOptics reflects our business model to target companies that have an innovative product or service, rapid path to commercialization and a strong management team. In addition, PixelOptics exemplifies one of the major themes in Safeguard’s business model — convergence — where healthcare and technology are intersecting in fields like medical devices.”
“PixelOptics is changing the standard of care for eyeglass wearers,” said Gary J. Kurtzman, MD, Senior Vice President and Managing Director in the Life Sciences Group at Safeguard Scientifics. “Founded by Dr. Ron Blum, a seasoned veteran and innovator in the optical space, PixelOptics’ novel approach to vision correction is revolutionizing how eyeglass wearers will be able to transition between near and far distances. I have been wearing emPower! since we began our due diligence process and can’t imagine going back to standard progressive lenses.”
Kurtzman and Stephen T. Zarrilli, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Safeguard, will both join PixelOptics’ board of directors.
“Safeguard has a tremendous reputation in the life sciences community for providing more than just capital,” said Ron Blum, O.D., President and CEO of PixelOptics. “Safeguard’s operational expertise was a key driver in our decision to partner with them. We are very humbled and fortunate to have forged such a strong and credible financial syndicate that will enable us to grow PixelOptics as well as provide the company with the capital to launch emPower! We anticipate launching emPower! across North America and beginning a regional rollout in Europe within the next 12 months. Following this, we expect to start selling emPower! in Asia within 24 months.”
About Safeguard Scientifics
Founded in 1953 and based in Wayne, PA, Safeguard Scientifics, Inc. (NYSE: SFE) provides growth capital for entrepreneurial and innovative life sciences and technology companies. Safeguard targets life sciences companies in Molecular and Point-of-Care Diagnostics, Medical Devices, Regenerative Medicine, Specialty Pharmaceuticals and selected healthcare services, and technology companies in Internet / New Media, Financial Services IT, Healthcare IT and selected business services with capital requirements of up to $25 million. Safeguard participates in expansion financings, corporate spin-outs, management buyouts, recapitalizations, industry consolidations and early-stage financings. For more information, please visit our website at www.safeguard.com, our blog at blog.safeguard.com or you can follow us on Twitter @Safeguard and LinkedIn.
About PixelOptics
Headquartered in Roanoke, VA, PixelOptics is committed to “transformational innovation” in the spectacle lens industry. The company’s focus is on improving and elevating the current standard of vision correction by inventing, developing and marketing a wide range of innovative new products based on dynamic focusing lenses, innovative lens design technologies, and composite optics. PixelOptics is dedicated to helping consumers see better and more comfortably, while at the same time helping the vision care industry to grow. For additional information on Pixel please visit www.pixeloptics.com. For additional information on emPower! electronic focusing eyeglasses please visit www.emPowerEyeWear.com
Forward-looking Statements
Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements contained in this release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Our forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties. The risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, include, among others, managing rapidly changing technologies, limited access to capital, competition, the ability to attract and retain qualified employees, the ability to execute our strategy, the uncertainty of the future performance of our companies, acquisitions and dispositions of companies, the inability to manage growth, compliance with government regulations and legal liabilities, additional financing requirements, the effect of economic conditions in the business sectors in which our companies operate, and other uncertainties described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Many of these factors are beyond our ability to predict or control. In addition, as a result of these and other factors, our past financial performance should not be relied on as an indication of future performance. The Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements or other information contained in this news release.