Liege-based EyeD Pharma, a pharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of innovative drug products in ophthalmology, has received €45M in a fresh round of funding. The round was backed by Belgian families, entrepreneurs active in the life sciences and public authorities.
Ophthalmology is a branch of medicine and surgery that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the eye.
Funds for growth
The proceeds from this round will be used by the company to develop ophthalmic products using its technology platform and to obtain the first clinical data for humans. The funds will allow EyeD Pharma to invest in its most advanced product candidate – TimoD. The company will also invest in the development of three other drug candidates for various eye conditions.
Besides, EyeD Pharma is also looking to expand its workforce by hiring twenty new talents including managers, researchers, production and maintenance workers and logisticians. These new jobs will add to the 93 which have been created by EyeD Pharma in the Liège region since 2012.
Marc Foidart, Executive Chairman of EyeD Pharma, says, “This new round of financing, with the exception of listed companies, is the third largest round of financing in the life sciences sector this year after Agomab (Ghent) and MiDiagnostics (Leuven) in Belgium and the largest in Wallonia. Above all, it gives us the necessary means to conduct our first clinical study in humans and a solid Belgian shareholder base to plan our next development steps.”
“Delivery of vision care”
EyeD Pharma was founded in 2012 on the initiative of Prof. Jean-Marie Rakic, head of the ophthalmology department of the University Hospital of Liège, and the Foidart family, supported by a group of other ophthalmologists and a few private individuals. The company is developing an innovative drug delivery system based on a controlled-release intraocular implant.
EyeD Pharma is currently focusing on the treatment of glaucoma, an ocular pathology that mainly affects people over the age of 45 and is responsible for significant deterioration of vision in the latter.
With the launch of UniD Manufacturing in spring 2022, its production unit in the form of a CDMO (contract development and manufacturing organisation) located in the Sart-Tilman science park, EyeD Pharma’s teams will be able to accelerate and continue the development of products (currently four) with controlled release via intraocular micro-implants.
Investors supporting the project
The current round saw participation from the Jolly and Noël families via their holding company Nomainvest, Jean Stéphenne, Robert Taub, Didier Allaer (Diagenode), and the public funds SRIW and SFPI.
Among the existing shareholders, the Fund +, Qbic II and Noshaq funds, the du Monceau family and François Blondel participated in the round.
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