HERZLIYA, Israel—Orasis Pharmaceuticals LTD., a privately-held, clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on developing an eye drop for the treatment of presbyopia symptoms, has closed a $13 million Series B financing. The financing was led by the ophthalmology-focused venture capital fund Visionary Ventures, with participation from Sequoia Capital, SBI (Japan) Innovation Ventures, LifeSci Venture Partners and other private investors. Jeffry Weinhuff, managing partner of Visionary Ventures and Masafuyu Tanaka, president of SBI (Japan) Innovation Ventures, will join the Orasis board of directors in conjunction with the financing.

Proceeds from the financing will be used to advance Orasis’s lead product candidate, CSF-1, an eye drop being developed for the treatment of presbyopia symptoms, through completion of its Phase 2b clinical trial, Orasis said in a statement. The proceeds will also be used for preparation of the Phase 3 trial and to continue pre-commercial activities ahead of the potential launch of CSF-1.

“The recent Series B funding is a significant milestone for Orasis, which will allow us to advance the clinical development of CSF-1, an eye drop with the potential to eliminate the need for reading glasses in patients with presbyopia, a condition with substantial market opportunities and a significant unmet need,” said Elad Kedar, chief executive officer of Orasis. “The recent investment led by Visionary Ventures, a top life science investment fund exclusively focused on ophthalmology, provides strong validation of our vision and approach.”

Alcon is also working to commercialize an eye drop for treating presbyopia developed by Encore Vision, which it acquired in late 2016 .