On April 12, clinical-stage biotech company Aurion Biotech announced the completion of a $120 million financing round
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The financing was led by Deerfield Management, with participation from existing investors Falcon Vision and Flying L Partners
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Alcon, a global leader in eye care, also participated in the financing
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Funding will be paid to the company based on the achievement of key clinical and operational milestones
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Aurion intends to use the funding to advance its program of cell therapy for corneal edema secondary to endothelial dysfunction
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Corneal edema secondary to endothelial dysfunction is a serious ocular disease
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Because corneal cells cannot regenerate after death, patients with corneal endothelial dysfunction permanently lose corneal endothelial cells, and excess fluid accumulates in the cornea, resulting in corneal edema, blurred vision, and even blindness
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The disease affects millions of people around the world
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Although corneal transplantation is effective, this method also has disadvantages: 1) The supply of donor organs is limited; 2) The surgical procedure is complicated, and some patients may require retransplantation
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Headquartered in Seattle, Boston and Tokyo, Aurion Biotech aims to restore sight to millions of patients through life-changing regenerative therapies
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The company's first drug candidate is the treatment of corneal edema secondary to endothelial dysfunction, and it is also the first clinically validated corneal care cell therapy, received in 2020 from ophthalmic surgeons at Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine (KPUM) in Japan and research scientist Shigeru Kinoshita's lab
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Early clinical studies in Japan and subsequent dose-ranging and confirmatory clinical trials successfully demonstrated the safety, efficacy and tolerability of this lead product candidate
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Patients experienced significant and durable improvements in key indicators of corneal health: visual acuity, corneal endothelial cell density, and central corneal thickness
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Related studies also support significant potential benefits of this therapy in patients with corneal edema secondary to endothelial dysfunction:
1) Abundant supply of corneal endothelial cells: Healthy cells from donor corneas are cultured in a novel, multi-step, patented process
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Cells made from a single donor can treat up to 100 patients
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2) Simple operation: As a simple injection method, this cell therapy is simpler and easier to operate than corneal cell transplantation;
2) 3) Patient-friendly: Recovery after cell therapy takes only a few hours, while recovery after corneal transplantation takes days
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The Aurion team is preparing to submit an NDA to the PMDA in Japan; in the US, they are preparing to submit an IND to initiate clinical trials; and in the EU, they are working on other clinical development plans
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Aurion pipeline situation (source: company official website)
Greg Kunst, CEO of Aurion, said: "This financing underscores the potential of our developed cell therapies to transform the lives of millions of patients with corneal endothelial dysfunction
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Investors bring strategic support, insights and in-depth resources to Aurion.
We are very encouraged, all of which will help accelerate our development
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”
References:
References: References:1# Aurion Biotech Raises $120 Million from Deerfield Management, Petrichor, Flying LPartners, Falcon Vision/KKR, and Visionary Ventures (Source: Aurion official website)
1# 1# Aurion Biotech Raises $120 Million from Deerfield Management, Petrichor, Flying LPartners, Falcon Vision/KKR, and Visionary Ventures (Source: Aurion official website) 2# Shigeru Kinoshita et al.
Injection of Cultured Cells with a ROCK Inhibitor for Bullous Keratopathy.
N Engl J Med.
2018
Injection of Cultured Cells with a ROCK Inhibitor for Bullous Keratopathy.
N Engl J Med.
2018
