Beacon Therapeutics Raises Funds to Advance Development of Its Ophthalmic Gene Therapies
Beacon Therapeutics announced it has raised $170 million in Series B funding, which will be used to support the continued clinical development of Beacon’s lead asset, AGTC-501, for X-linked retinitis pigmentosa (XLRP; laruparetigene zovaparvovec) and generate phase 1/2 clinical trial data for the company’s dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) program. Beacon has raised approximately $290 million in funding to date, noted the company.
According to the company, AGTC-501 expresses the full-length RPGR protein, thereby addressing all photoreceptor damage caused by XLRP, including both rod and cone loss.
Beacon noted that the funding round comes after several clinical milestones for the company, including the announcement in June 2024 of the first patient dosed in the VISTA registrational trial for AGTC-501; the initiation of the phase 2 DAWN trial; and the presentation of 12-month interim results of the phase 2 SKYLINE trial at the 47th Annual Macula Society Meeting held February 7-12, 2024, in Palm Springs, California. The SKYLINE data demonstrated the precision, effectiveness and safety of Beacon’s therapeutic interventions, stated the company.
Forbion led the financing, which included existing investors Syncona Limited, Oxford Science Enterprises, and the University of Oxford, as well as initial investments from TCGX and Advent Life Sciences. The company also appointed Dmitrij Hristodorov and Wouter Joustra, General Partners of Forbion, and Cariad Chester, Managing Partner of TCGX, to its Board of Directors. Dominic Schmidt, General Partner of Advent Life Sciences, joins as a Board Observer.
“We are focused on progressing our pipeline of ophthalmic gene therapies to save and restore the vision of patients with a range of prevalent and rare retinal diseases that result in blindness,” David Fellows, Chief Executive Officer of Beacon Therapeutics, said in a company news release. “I am confident that along with the addition of Dmitrij Hristodorov, Wouter Joustra, and Cariad Chester to the Beacon Board, these funds will support the ongoing development of our late-stage and preclinical pipeline and enable acceleration of the development of AGTC-501 as we progress through the clinic and toward commercialization.”