Eyestem Research raises $10 million in Series B round

Eyestem Research, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, has raised $10 million in a Series B funding round led by Raju Barwale and Alkem Laboratories managing director Sandeep Singh.

The company had earlier raised $9.95 million from Alkem Lab, Biological E, and C-CAMP.

The funds will be used to finish the ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial in India and to prepare for filing an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

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Co-founded in 2015 by Jogin Desai, Rajani Battu and Rajarshi Pal, the Bengaluru-based Eyestem Research is focused on creating cell replacement treatments for eye diseases that currently have no cure. 

The company is especially known for its work on dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Their therapy, Eyecyte-RPE, uses special retinal cells made from human stem cells to replace the damaged cells in the eye.

Eyestem says that Eyecyte-RPE is being made for patients with geographic atrophy (GA), a condition caused by dry age-related macular degeneration (dry AMD). The company has sent its Phase 1 clinical study report to India’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) and is waiting for approval to start Phase 2 trials.

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According to the company, Eyecyte-RPE can replace damaged or lost retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells and may help regenerate tissue in the affected retina. This treatment is allogeneic (from a donor), easy to produce in large amounts, and can be stored frozen for a long time.

Dry AMD is the main cause of blindness in people over 50. Geographic atrophy (GA) is a severe form of dry AMD that causes a gradual and permanent loss of central vision because cells in the macula, the center of the retina, die. Around 196 million people worldwide have dry AMD, and 5 million of them suffer from GA.