Re-Vana Therapeutics Raises $11.9 Million to Advance Drug Delivery Products
Re-Vana Therapeutics announced the closure of its Series A round with $11.9 million in funding, an oversubscription of $4 million. The proceeds will advance the development of Re-Vana's novel and proprietary photo-crosslinked EyeLief, EyeLief-SD, and OcuLief biodegradable drug delivery technologies. It will also enable expansion of the company's operations and development teams.
With the completion of key nonclinical ocular safety, tolerability and efficacy studies, Re-Vana has demonstrated that its platform can achieve 6 months or greater sustained delivery of an anti-VEGF biologic at therapeutically-relevant levels with high drug loading, controlled burst release, and a favorable degradation profile, according to a company news release. Re-Vana's platform has the potential to enable sustained drug delivery via non-surgical administration in office-based settings to treat ocular disease, deesigned to overcome several long-standing limitations and challenges in the field.
In conjunction with this financing, Re-Vana's board of directors has appointed Robert Avery, MD, of Visionary Ventures and InFocus Capital Partners, as board member; and Michael O'Rourke, President and CEO of Re-Vana Therapeutics, as Board Chair.
"Financing from new and existing investors during this challenging time is a testament to the potential of Re-Vana's technologies for sustained delivery of biologic therapeutics," Mr. O'Rourke said in a company news release. "We are especially fortunate to have received follow-on financing from multiple, highly respected, U.S. ophthalmic-focused venture capital firms and U.K. investors. Their proven knowledge and expertise in ophthalmology are invaluable additions to Re-Vana as we accelerate the development of our pipeline and expand our strategic partnerships."
Re-Vana is a technology spin-out from Queen's University, located in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The company is currently developing sustained release ophthalmic therapeutics aimed at reducing the frequency of intravitreal injections required to treat a wide range of retinal diseases, including neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD). In addition, Re-Vana's proprietary photo-crosslinked sustained-release technology may enable the development of a broad range of novel, sustained release products applicable to a variety of therapeutic areas.
The financing was led by Visionary Ventures. Additional investors include ExSight Ventures, InFocus Capital Partners and existing U.K. investors, Qubis Ltd, Co-Fund NI, and TechStart Ventures.
For more information, see Mr. O'Rourke present at the Ophthalmology Innovation Summit XII (OIS XII), which takes place December 2-3, 2022 in San Diego, CA. Mr. O'Rourke will speak during the Retina Innovation Showcase, which runs from 11:40 am to 12:50 pm PT on December 3.