IRVINE, Calif., Nov. 26, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Vitreoretinal Technologies (VRT) recently closed on an $8.8 million Series A financing with lead investor De Novo Ventures and a group of private investors.
Vitreoretinal Technologies (VRT) is a specialty pharmaceutical company with specific focus on ophthalmology. The company's drug candidates are focused on diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and retinitis pigmentosa.
"All of us at De Novo Ventures are delighted to have the opportunity to invest in Vitreoretinal Technologies. The market potential for the three products which will soon be administered to patients in phase III trials is enormous. The positive results from previous trials are suggestive of significant clinical benefit in diabetic retinopathy, retinitis pigmentosa, and glaucoma," said new board member Fred Dotzler.
"We believe our core strengths are a combination of unique drug development processes and a deep knowledge of the ophthalmic market," said Hampar Karageozian, a founder and the CEO of VRT. "The recent success of AMD drugs, such as Lucentis, has drawn significant attention from large pharma and the Investment community. This trend and our pipeline should place us in a favorable position."
Ramgopal Rao, VRT's Chief Operating Officer, said, "With this funding in place VRT is in an excellent position to begin the planned Phase III clinical studies and look forward to future regulatory approvals. We value participation of De Novo Ventures, a first tier venture firm with vast experience with early and mid-stage life science companies, in our growth and corporate development."
Co-founder and Chief Medical Officer, Vicken Karageozian, MD said, "I look forward to an effective treatment option for diabetic retinopathy patients. With rapidly growing rates of diabetes world-wide, Vitreosolve has the potential to be one of the most important drugs in ophthalmology."
It is estimated that there are 8 million diabetic retinopathy patients in the U.S. There is no effective treatment available for arresting or reversing the disease process today. We estimate the total U.S. market potential to be several billions of dollars. Similarly, glaucoma represents a multi billion dollar market with close to 2 million patients in the U.S. VRT drugs address these unmet market needs.
VRT has two drug candidates: Vitreosolve(tm) for diabetic retinopathy and Neurosolve(tm), a neuro rescue agent, for glaucoma and retinitis pigmentosa. Both the drugs are small molecules with a long history of safety for systemic use in humans. They were optimized for safety and efficacy through a series of Phase II trials in humans. Several other applications for this family of compounds are in development.
Vitreosolve for diabetic retinopathy is the company's lead candidate and it has been approved for Phase III clinical trials by the FDA. VRT is currently recruiting sites in the U.S. and overseas and projects that the first patient will be injected within the next 60 days. Neurosolve for glaucoma also received a Phase III designation from the FDA, and VRT plans to start a Phase III study in June 2008. In addition, Neurosolve has also been granted orphan status by the U.S. FDA for retinitis pigmentosa indication.