Oculus Insider to Sell Microcyn: BioBuzz

PETALUMA, Calif. (TheStreet) -- Oculus Innovative Sciences(OCLS) has turned to one of the company's directors and largest shareholders to help peddle its wound-cleaning product made from common diluted bleach and water to retail customers.

Oculus announced Sept. 16 the "strategic partnership" with V&M Industries, in which V&M will sell Microcyn through over-the-counter retail outlets in the U.S. and Canada in exchange for an undisclosed percentage of the revenues flowing back to Oculus.

What Oculus failed to disclose, however, is that V&M is a brand-new company founded this year by Robert Burlingame, the owner of a privately held roofing tile company and an Oculus director since 2006. Burlingame is also one of Oculus' largest shareholders -- a stake he's acquired in part through a series of loan and consulting agreements with Oculus that paid him stock and warrants at below market prices.

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Oculus' communications chief Dan McFadden did not respond to emails asking to comment on why Oculus didn't disclose the insider connection with V&M. I also wanted to know from McFadden more about V&M, including its current revenue and experience selling retail healthcare products. Oculus claims the company was founded in 2009, yet V&M has no Web site and a search of Secretary of State corporation filings in California (where Burlingame's other business is located) shows the company has a suspended business license.

"The management team at V&M has proven its ability to champion a wide variety of products from concept to profitability in relatively short order," said Oculus CEO Hoji Alimi, in a statement announced the partnership. "They have built a seasoned marketing team that understands the dynamics of the U.S. over-the-counter space and are prepared to fully invest so as to generate meaningful sales for the Microcyn OTC products."