Rillieux-la-Pape (France) – These funds will enable the company to complete the clinical trial of EyeOP1, a novel, ultrasound-based medical device for the treatment of glaucoma - July 5, 2010 – EyeTechCare SA, which is developing non invasive therapeutic medical devices using ultrasound technology, announces the completion of a EUR 7.5-million funding round. The funds were provided by Lyon-based insurance company SHAM, a first time investor, and Crédit Agricole Private Equity (CAPE), one of EyeTechCare’s existing shareholders. Aelios Finance and MAGS acted as advisers to the company, while Morgan Lewis acted for the investors.“We were favourably impressed by the EyeTechCare team, whose innovative medical device should fill a major therapeutic void in the treatment of glaucoma and could prove a real technological breakthrough in overcoming this disease...
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...About EyeTechCare
EyeTechCare SA is developing non-invasive therapeutic medical devices for the ophthalmology market based on High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU). HIFU technology allows ambulatory and rapid treatment to be performed, thereby limiting the cost and the risk for the patient.
The company’s first device, EyeOP1, is for the treatment of glaucoma, a disease that affects about 2% of the world population and can lead to blindness. None of the therapies currently on the market provide a satisfactory cure for glaucoma. The treatments offered up to now have been constructed around eye drops, lasers and surgery, but they have limitations (low compliance, dependence on the operator, patient relapse, technical difficulties, and so on). EyeOP1 has been undergoing clinical trials in Lyon since March this year and is due to be launched onto the market in 2011. The device utilizes the UC3 (ultrasound circular cyclocoagulation) procedure, which makes it possible to reduce intraocular pressure by partially and accurately destroying the ciliary bodies that produce aqueous humour.
Based in Rillieux-la-Pape, near Lyon, EyeTechCare was founded in 2008 by three experienced managers with complementary expertise in the medical, industrial and regulatory fields. The company has submitted five patent applications in conjunction with a Lyon-based laboratory (Unit 556) of Inserm, the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research. Since 2008, the founders have secured EUR 500,000 in aid and subsidies from OSEO (the French innovation promotion agency), as well as official recognition from a number of state technology authorities. The company raised a total of EUR 8.7 million since inception... [PDF] EyeTechCare's Press Release - PDF du communiqué de presse EyeTechCare -
