Invirsa, a Columbus, OH-based clinical-stage pharmaceutical company, raised $7.7M in Series B funding.
The round was led by CincyTech, with participation from Rev1 Ventures, JobsOhio Growth Capital Fund, and JumpStart Ventures.
The company intends to use the funds to support a series of Phase 2 studies in conditions including acute infectious keratoconjunctivitis, dry eye disease, and Fuchs corneal dystrophy. In addition, funds will support Phase 3 preparation.
Led by CEO Dr. Robert Shalwitz, Invirsa is advancing INV-102, a new treatment for ocular conditions that is derived from a naturally occurring small molecule which modulates the activity of pathways critical to the DNA damage repair response and cellular stability. The first pathway is the protein p53, known as “the guardian of the genome,” and the second is Pax6, which is critical for cellular stability, particularly in the eye. In vitro tests have shown that INV-102 reduces cellular injury/death caused by adenovirus (the primary virus associated with infectious conjunctivitis) and other causes of DNA damage. In vivo studies have demonstrated superior efficacy in several animal models.
FinSMEs
15/06/2023