Celularity Enters Strategic Partnership with DefEYE to Advance Regenerative Therapies in Eye Care
Celularity announced a strategic partnership with DefEYE, a newly established ophthalmic product and technology company. Under the terms of the agreement, Celularity has executed an exclusive license and pricing arrangement with DefEYE, following Celularity’s in-kind investment in DefEYE’s $12 million Series Seed Preferred Equity funding round.
DefEYE was founded to expand on the commercial foundation of Verséa Ophthalmics. According to DefEYE, sales in 2024 increased nearly 70% year-over-year, reflecting accelerating adoption of regenerative solutions in eye care. Proceeds from the Series Seed Preferred round will fund the launch and scale of a portfolio of decellularized biologic solutions for ophthalmology, including:
Biovance and Biovance 3L Ocular – single and tri-layer Decellularized Amniotic Basement Membrane products
Interfyl – a flowable human connective tissue matrix derived from the chorionic plate
Collaborative R&D initiatives for future commercial innovations
Celularity has granted DefEYE an exclusive sublicense to its ophthalmic biologics portfolio, encompassing Biovance, Biovance 3L, Interfyl, and CentaFlex. Under the arrangement, Celularity will serve as the exclusive contract manufacturer for DefEYE’s full line of ophthalmic biologic solutions.
“The partnership reflects a strategic opportunity to align for both companies and signals the start of a promising new chapter for regenerative therapies in eye care,” said Robert J. Hariri, MD, PhD, Celularity’s Chairman and CEO. “Our in-kind investment and exclusive license and pricing agreement exemplify Celularity’s commitment to drive innovation through strategic partnerships. We are excited to be part of DefEYE’s focused expansion into the ophthalmic space and to demonstrate the transformative power of placental-derived regenerative biologic solutions. This strategy fits into our objective of accessing new markets for our portfolio of commercial products.”
As part of the agreement, Celularity has secured the right to appoint one member to DefEYE’s five-member Board of Directors.
“This strategic collaboration with Celularity strengthens our capabilities and core competencies,” said Rob Sambursky, MD, CEO of DefEYE, Inc. “With Celularity’s deep scientific and manufacturing expertise, we believe we will be well positioned to scale and deliver meaningful clinical management solutions to both physicians and patients.”