Eyestem raises $6.4M in Series A round

The investment will allow Eyestem to progress a treatment for Dry Age-related Macular Degeneration into clinical trials.

Eyestem, a Bengaluru-based cell therapy company, has raised $6.4 million (Rs 51 crore) in a Series A round led by three pharma majors: Biological E Limited (BE), Alkem, NATCO, and Kemwell Biopharma promoters Anurag and Karan Bagaria.

Endiya Partners and Kotak Private Equity, both existing investors, also participated in this round, valuing Eyestem at $46.4 million (Rs 371 crore) post-money.

"We started Eyestem with the sole purpose of being able to create cell therapy products at scale for diseases that devastate a large number of people in India and around the world," said Dr. Jogin Desai, Founder and CEO of Eyestem. The backing of major Indian pharmaceutical companies who share our vision validates our strategy of developing affordable innovation for patients all over the world. Following this funding, we will continue to focus on solidifying our cell therapy platform and advancing our flagship product for Dry AMD through international standard early clinical trials."

Eyecyte-RPE, the company’s patented flagship product, is an experimental treatment for Dry Age-related Macular Degeneration (Dry AMD) and the company has other products in the pipeline for the treatment of incurable diseases affecting humanity. EyeCyte-RPE replaces damaged retinal pigment epithelium cells and is designed to restore sight for patients in early stages of Macular Degeneration or arrest loss of vision for those in later stages. The product is allogenic, administered by a surgical procedure and is patented in India and abroad. The company intends to file for a first in human trial for the product within a year in consultation with CDSCO and US FDA. 

"We are very happy to be associated with Eyestem for its innovative work that services unmet needs of patients that have a high impact on quality of life," said Rajeev Nannapaneni, CEO of NATCO Pharma Limited.

"Endiya Partners is delighted to back such strong, globally competitive innovative startups and participate in the current funding round," said Dr Ramesh Byrapaneni, Managing Partner of Endiya Partners. The addition of leading pharma and biotech investors to our capitalization table is a great validation of the world-class science that Eyestem is pursuing, which has the potential to change millions of lives around the world."

Eyestem was founded in 2016 by an experienced team of clinical research, regenerative medicine, and ophthalmology experts. It is advised by a board of directors and has established collaborations with other leaders in related scientific disciplines in India, the United Kingdom, Japan, and the United States. Long-term goals include developing a scalable cell therapy platform to treat incurable diseases and democratizing global access to these newer technologies.

Tags : #Eyestem #funding #seriesaAround #fundingalert #DryAge-relatedMacularDegeneration #clinicaltrials #banglore #india #pharma #natco #medicircle #smiitakumar

About the Author


Shweta Yadav

I strive to provide you with the most current and up-to-date healthcare news and articles in all main areas. Within the Medicircle umbrella, a wide range of themes and categories concerning health.

Related Stories

Loading Please wait...

-Advertisements-




Trending Now

Seminar on RERA: Concerns in Real Estate heldDecember 09, 2023
Commonwealth youth leaders want action, not just rhetoric at COP28December 09, 2023
South India’s biggest Gaushala, Satyam Shivam Sundaram Gau Nivas to conduct Annakut Celebrations on Sunday on the eve of its 23rd AnniversaryDecember 08, 2023
Center for Diagnostics and Telemedicine Introduces Groundbreaking Service – Preliminary Clinical and Technical Testing for Medical SoftwareDecember 08, 2023
FTCCI to hold a Seminar on RERA: Concerns in Real EstateDecember 08, 2023
Adoption of Public Health Strategies and Early Detection Key for Cancer Mitigation: ExpertsDecember 08, 2023
Are online spaces safe for women?December 08, 2023
Prescribing Equality: Tackling Gender Disparities in India's Healthcare LeadershipDecember 07, 2023
Digitalizing Health: Generative AI's Impact Amplified by AWS Cloud in IndiaDecember 07, 2023
Eyes on the Future: Dr. Agarwal's Group Channels Rs 100 Crore for Cutting-edge Eye Hospitals Across KeralaDecember 06, 2023
Organ Transplant Scandal: Apollo Hospital Faces Government InquiryDecember 06, 2023
Breaking Barriers in Cancer Treatment: Max Healthcare's CAR-T Therapy PartnershipDecember 06, 2023
Exploring the Link Between Covid-19 Vaccination and Sudden Cardiac Arrests: ICMR StudyNovember 22, 2023
Powering the Future: China's Biodegradable Wireless System for Bioelectronic InnovationNovember 22, 2023
IMS BHU Pioneers Advanced Cardiac Care: Unveiling Cutting-Edge Technologies for Precise DiagnosisNovember 18, 2023
Inito's $6 Million Boost: Transforming Women's Health with AI-Backed Fertility MonitoringNovember 18, 2023
Madras High Court Advocates for Equality: PG Medical Students to Receive Incentive Marks for COVID-19 DutyNovember 18, 2023
Next-Gen Healthcare: CarePods and AI Redefine the Patient ExperienceNovember 17, 2023
Air Quality Crisis: Alarming Rise in Premature Births Linked to Air Quality in Begusarai, BiharNovember 17, 2023
Limerick Contest-2023: A Celebration of Wit and PoetryNovember 17, 2023