Packer sell down represents most of the shares sold today. They...

Packer sell down represents most of the shares sold today. They have been a net seller recently. They exercised options for 1400000 shares @27c on 2/02/17 and have more than sold that number of shares in the last few days.

Bioshares have provided yet another update in there latest edition.

The key points:

They expect the commencement of the phase IIB trial to be a driver of significant value for Opthea. Based on current regulatory guidance they also expect the trial will recruit treatment naive patients. While OPT-302 is being developed as a drug to be used in combination with approved VEGF-A inhibitors of interest to investors is how OPT-302 will be developed so that it can be used in patients who have not responded to, or worsen over time with VEGF-A therapies. This represents about 50% of all patients initially treated with VEGF-A therapies. A Phase IIb trial in approximately 100 subjects will likely evaluate the administration of OPT-302 over six months. Also of interest in coming months will be plans the company may reveal for the development of OPT-302 to treat other eye diseases for example, diabetic macular odema. It should be noted that Lucentis and Eylea are still only approved for the treatment of wAMD. Opthea is close to releasing data from its Phase IIa trial of OPT- 302.
Ophthotech’s Fovista failure is one of the drivers behind the recent appreciation in Opthea’s share price. This failure has opened up the competitive landscape for companies developing novel therapies to treat wAMD, including Opthea. At the beginning of February, Ophthotech announced a plan to “actively explore obtaining rights to additional products, product candidates and technologies to treat ophthalmic diseases, particularly those of the back of the eye.” Opthea may become a target for Ophthotech. Bioshares views any attempts at a merger as unlikely to succeed given Opthea’s relatively healthy cash position and ability to raise funds. Also the fact that local investors are likely to rate scrip deals with US entities as complicated. US based investors in Opthea may of course disagree.