PanOptica, a US-based ophthalmology treatment developer backed by pharmaceutical firm Novo, has received $11m in series B funding from venture capital firms Third Rock Ventures and SV Health Investors.
Founded in 2009, PanOptica develops therapies for ophthalmology with a focus on neovascular age-related macular degeneration, a condition also known as wet AMD, which leads to a blurring or loss of vision.
The series B capital will fund a phase 1/2 study for PanOptica’s lead product candidate, PAN-90806, an eye drop therapy intended to treat patients with wet AMD for up to three months.
The company advanced an earlier version of PAN-90806 through a patient trial and was encouraged by the results, though data from the trial linked higher doses of the drug to adverse corneal findings. PanOptica claims to have developed an improved version of PAN-90806 that has reduced those risks.
PanOptica raised up to $45m in a 2014 round also referred to as a series B, which was co-led by Novo Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of Novo, and Third Rock Ventures with SV Health Investors (under previous name SV Life Sciences) also contributing capital.
Third Rock and SV had previously provided $30m of funding for PanOptica’s 2011 series A round.
Paul Chaney, CEO of PanOptica, said: “We remain focused on initiating a phase 1/2 trial early next year, as the study will help us define the optimal dose, regimen and regulatory path for what we hope will be the first effective topical treatment for wet AMD.”