Kala Bio enters securities purchase agreement with David Lazar, names him CEO

KALA BIO (KALA) entered into a $6M securities purchase agreement with private investor David E. Lazar for the purchase of the Company’s non-voting convertible preferred stock. KALA received $1.8M in the first of two closings under the agreement. Effective immediately, Mr. Lazar has been appointed KALA’s CEO and Chairman of the Board. Former CEO Todd Bazemore continues to serve on the Board. On September 29, 2025, KALA announced that its CHASE Phase 2b clinical trial of KPI-012 for the treatment of persistent corneal epithelial defect did not meet the primary endpoint of complete healing of PCED as measured by corneal fluorescein staining. The trial also failed to achieve statistical significance for key secondary efficacy endpoints and did not show any meaningful difference between either KPI-012 treatment arm and the placebo arm. KALA had temporarily ceased development of KPI-012 to preserve cash and explore strategic options, but following the investment by Mr. Lazar, KALA plans to continue evaluating and redeveloping its therapeutic candidates for other standalone uses or in conjunction with other therapeutic candidates or products while simultaneously exploring a potential strategic transaction. In conjunction with the securities purchase agreement’s first closing, KALA has issued new shares of non-voting convertible Series AA preferred stock in exchange for Mr. Lazar’s initial investment of $1.8M. Completion of the investment transaction and the second closing are contingent on obtaining stockholder approval at the next meeting of stockholders, which is expected to be held during the first quarter of 2026. Following stockholder approval and upon meeting certain other closing conditions, KALA will issue new shares of non-voting convertible Series AAA preferred stock with the second closing investment of $4.2M.