EyeBio announces expansion of Series A to $130 Million, advances development of Restoret for retinal diseases
The company also completes enrollment of the multiple ascending dose phase of AMARONE, the first clinical trial of EyeBio’s lead investigational asset Restoret, with favorable initial safety and tolerability at all dose levels.
Image credit: ©Roman Motizov – stock.adobe.com
Eyebiotech Ltd announced the close of an extension to its Series A financing, bringing the total raised to date to $130 million.
According to a news release,1 EyeBio will use the funds to accelerate its clinical development program and further build out its innovative retina pipeline.
David Guyer, MD, CEO and co-founder of EyeBio, noted the company is excited about the potential of its pipeline and progress to date.
“The expansion of our Series A round in the current fundraising environment speaks to our investors’ enthusiasm for what the EyeBio team is accomplishing,” he said in the news release. “We’re very fortunate to have the caliber of investors and board members that we do, and adding the resources and expertise of Bain Capital Life Sciences, Omega, and Vertex Ventures HC will enable us to deliver on the promise of EyeBio’s pipeline as quickly as possible.”
New investors Bain Capital Life Sciences, Omega Funds and Vertex Ventures HC joined the financing round, which included participation from existing investors SV Health Investors, Jeito Capital, Samsara Biocapital and MRL Ventures Fund.
“We’re excited to be a part of the Series A extension along with Bain Capital Life Sciences and Vertex Ventures HC. We believe EyeBio’s innovative pipeline has the potential to greatly benefit patients with significant unmet medical needs leading to vision loss and blindness,” Bernard Davitian, a partner at Omega Funds, said in the news release. “We look forward to partnering with David Guyer and the world-class team at EyeBio to contribute to building a great company together.”
Christine Brennan, PhD, managing director at Vertex Ventures HC, lauded the company’s team and its pipeline.
“EyeBio has a seasoned executive team committed to advancing new medicines leveraging novel biological mechanisms, which address remaining disease drivers such as persistent vascular leakage,” she said in the news release. “EyeBio’s potential breakthrough solution presents tremendous potential in enhancing patient care and treatment outcomes for millions affected by sight-threatening disease.”
EyeBio also announced the completion of enrollment into the multiple ascending dose (MAD) portion of AMARONE, the Phase 1b/2a clinical trial of Restoret in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME) and neovascular age-related macular degeneration (NVAMD).1
According to the company, Restoret is an investigational, intravitreally delivered, tri-specific antibody that acts as an agonist of the Wnt signaling pathway. It is designed to resolve residual fluid in the retina with the goal of improving visual acuity in individuals with NVAMD and DME, as well as other retinal diseases of permeability.
Tony Adamis, MD, chief scientific officer and co-founder of EyeBio, pointed out the completion of Part 1 of the AMARONE trial is a major achievement for EyeBio and represents a significant milestone in the company’s effort to bring innovative therapies to patients with retinal diseases.
“We hear constantly from retinal physicians about the need to drive better outcomes for their patients and the demand for novel approaches to treating serious retinal diseases,” he said in the news release. “Restoret may be one such approach. It’s a first-in-class Wnt pathway agonist antibody that we hope can improve the outcomes and lives of patients with diabetic macular edema and neovascular age-related macular degeneration.”
