Eyenovia Weighs Potential All-Stock Reverse Merger with Betaliq

Eyenovia, of New York, reported March 20 that it was contemplating an all-stock reverse merger with Betaliq, of Tampa, Florida.

The new, publicly listed company would combine Betaliq’s EyeSol water-free topical drug delivery technology for glaucoma and Eyenovia’s Optejet ophthalmic liquid microdosing platform.

The proposed transaction assumes a value for Betaliq of around $77 million and a value for Eyenovia of $15 million, assuming zero cash (net of liabilities) at closing. The deal would result in Betaliq equity holders owning approximately 83.7 percent  of the combined company, with Eyenovia shareholders owning 16.3 percent.

Eyenovia stressed that any deal remains subject to due diligence, negotiations, financing contingencies, and approval from the boards of both companies.

Betaliq is a collaboration between Novaliq, of Germany, and Florida-based BLP Management Group that was formed in 2019 to develop ophthalmic beta blockers using the EyeSol formulation. EyeSol offers increased bioavailability, no need for preservatives, and a drop size of 10 microliters that can be replicated with the Optejet device.

The EyeSol technology is currently used and licensed in the US FDA-approved dry eye treatments Miebo (perfluorohexyloctane ophthalmic solution, Bausch + Lomb) and Vevye (cyclosporine ophthalmic solution 0.1%, Harrow).

Eyenovia’s Optejet microdoser is FDA-approved for use with Mydcombi (tropicamide and phenylephrine hydrochloride ophthalmic spray) 1%/2.5% for pupil dilation. Eyenovia also markets Formosa’s Clobetasol eye drops in the US for postsurgical pain and inflammation.

Eyenovia said it continues to advance a user-filled version of the Optejet device, on track to file for US regulatory approval in Q4-2025. The user-filled Optejet is designed to work with a variety of topical ophthalmic liquids, including artificial tears and lens rewetting products. 

Eyenovia reported in April 2024 that it was exploring strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value, a process it reiterated in November 2024 when it scrapped the Phase III CHAPERONE trial of low-dose atropine in pediatric myopia after an independent data review committee determined that the trial was not meeting its primary endpoint of less than 0.5 diopters of myopia progression over three years.

Michael Rowe, chief executive officer of Eyenovia, said in a press release: “Under a combined new company, if the transaction is completed, our existing products could continue to be marketed to ophthalmologists and optometrists, while the combination of the EyeSol and Optejet technologies has the potential to create a platform that could fundamentally improve how topical eye medications and products are administered.” 

According to Betaliq’s website, its pipeline consists of BTQ-1902, an EyeSol-based timolol formulation in Phase III study; BTQ-2301, an EyeSol latanoprost formulation; and BTQ-2302, a combination of timolol and latanoprost.