ReVision Optics (RVO), a US-based optical healthcare company dedicated to treating presbyopia, has closed $55m in equity financing from new investors Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation, the venture capital subsidiary of healthcare company Johnson & Johnson, and RusnanoMedInvest (RMI), the venture capital subsidiary of Rusnano, which is wholly owned by the Government of the Russian Federation. The financing included the participation of past investors Canaan Partners, ProQuest Investments, InterWest Partners and Domain Associates.
Previously, RVO raised $35m in equity funding in May 2010 from a group of investors led by ProQuest Investments.
John Kilcoyne, RVO president and chief executive officer, said: “Participation by all of our existing investors, Canaan, ProQuest, InterWest and Domain, combined with the capital from new investors JJDC and RMI, provides our company with the necessary financial resources to carry us through the FDA PMA process for the Raindrop Near Vision Inlay [a surgically administered, microscopic hydrogel inlay designed to correct presbyopia and so reduce reliance on reading glasses] and to expand our current commercial footprint outside the US.”
As part of the financing, RVO has entered into a commercial supply and distribution agreement with NovaMedica, a partnership formed by Domain Associates and Rusnano, to commercialize Raindrop in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. “This agreement supports our mission to bring the Raindrop to the millions and millions of people around the world who are seeking to reduce their reliance on reading glasses,” said Kilcoyne.
Presbyopia is the loss of near vision caused by the eye’s natural aging process.