Character Biosciences has raised $93m in an oversubscribed Series B funding round to expedite the progression of precision therapies for degenerative eye conditions, beginning with age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
New investors Luma Group and aMoon jointly headed the financing round, with contributions from Bausch + Lomb and Jefferson Life Sciences.
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Current investors Catalio Capital Management, KdT Ventures, Innovation Endeavors and S32 also took part in the financing round.
The company’s lead candidates, CTX203 and CTX114, are designed to address critical factors contributing to retinal cell death and loss of vision.
The financing will provide support for the Phase I and Phase II proof-of-concept studies of these therapies, and facilitate the broadening of the company’s pipeline into other ophthalmic conditions.
AMD is a condition affecting individuals over the age of 50 and the primary cause of blindness in older adults globally.
To tackle this challenge, the company is collaborating with more than 150 ophthalmology treatment centres in the US to carry out an observational trial focused on AMD, integrating genetic data with longitudinal clinical and imaging data from more than 6,500 individuals.
The extensive data collection has enabled Character Bio to redefine the condition into genetically-defined subtypes, identify and prioritise potential therapeutic targets, and refine the subject selection for trials.
Character Biosciences co-founder and CEO Cheng Zhang stated: “By identifying the genetic modifiers of their disease progression, we can develop therapeutics to more precisely target the root causes of disease and improve clinical translation.
“This funding allows us to advance our lead programmes into first-in-human trials, to bring new therapies to patients who urgently need them.”
Character Bio focuses on targeted therapy development for progressive polygenic conditions, initially in ophthalmology.
