PanOptica, Inc., a Bernardsville, NJ-based private biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative ophthalmology therapies, secured $11m in Series B financing.
Backers included Third Rock Ventures and SV Health Investors (formerly SV Life Sciences).
The company intends to use the funds for the clinical advancement of PAN-90806, a small molecule anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) eye drop for the treatment of neovascular eye diseases.
Led by Paul G. Chaney, president and CEO, and Martin Wax, MD, an academic clinician scientist working in glaucoma, and most recently vice president of research and development and head of ophthalmology discovery and preclinical development at Alcon Labs, Inc., PanOptica focuses on developing innovative ophthalmology therapies seeking early-stage assets translated from other diseases and developing select candidates through human clinical proof of concept.
PAN-90806 is a selective inhibitor of VEGF receptor signaling. VEGF is a protein that plays a critical role in angiogenesis (the formation of new blood vessels) and increased permeability (leakage from blood vessels), two pathological processes that contribute to the vision loss associated with wet AMD. In pre-clinical research using validated ocular angiogenesis models, topically administered PAN-90806 in the form of an eye drop suppressed the formation of new blood vessels. In non-clinical pharmacokinetic studies, topical administration of PAN-90806 achieved significant and sustained levels in the retina and choroid of multiple species, supporting further investigation.
FinSMEs
06/10/2017