RhyGaze Secures $86 Million Series A Financing to Advance Gene Therapy for Vision Restoration
RhyGaze, a biotechnology company with headquarters in Basel, Switzerland, and Philadelphia, PA, has successfully secured $86 million in Series A financing. The funding will accelerate the development of its groundbreaking gene therapy for optogenetic vision restoration, targeting diseases that lead to blindness.
Key Investors
The financing round was led by notable investors, including:
• Google Ventures
• Arch Venture Partners
• F-Prime Capital
• Founding investors: BioGeneration Ventures and Novartis Venture Fund
Goals for the Funding
The $86 million investment will enable RhyGaze to advance its lead clinical candidate through critical development phases. Key initiatives include:
• Preclinical Studies: Conducting formal pharmacology and toxicology testing.
• Observational Studies: Launching a non-interventional study to identify potential clinical endpoints in patient groups eligible for the therapy.
• Clinical Trials: Initiating a first-in-human trial to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and potential efficacy of the novel gene therapy.
Scientific Vision
The therapy is based on optogenetics, a cutting-edge approach designed to restore high-resolution vision in individuals affected by blindness.
Botond Roska, scientific co-founder of RhyGaze, emphasized the innovative foundation of the program:
“This program exemplifies a key goal of IOB: combining our deep understanding of retinal biology and vision with breakthrough technologies to develop novel therapies for vision loss.”
Bence Gyorgy, another scientific co-founder and group leader at IOB, shared his enthusiasm for the therapy’s potential:
“We are excited to see this program moving forward because it uniquely presents the opportunity to restore high-resolution vision in blind patients.”
Leadership Insight
Katherine High, CEO of RhyGaze, highlighted the importance of collaboration and the potential global impact of the therapy:
“I look forward to partnering with colleagues at IOB to bring this novel gene therapy to patients, and I am excited about the team we are assembling to pursue this important goal. RhyGaze will determine over the next few years whether the compelling data generated at IOB can translate to clinical outcomes. If that is true, this innovation will have a worldwide impact in improved therapeutics for blindness.”
Looking Ahead
With its significant funding and expert partnerships, RhyGaze is well-positioned to lead advancements in gene therapy and deliver transformative treatments for individuals facing vision loss. The coming years will be pivotal as the company strives to translate its promising preclinical data into clinical success.
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