(PRESS RELEASE) CAMBRIDGE — Luminopia, Inc., a commercial-stage company pioneering a new class of treatments for neuro-visual disorders, today announced it has raised an additional $16M in new capital. U.S. Venture Partners (USVP) led the oversubscribed Series A financing round, with participation from new investor Broadfin Advisors, as well as support from existing investors, ShangBay Capital and Vertical Group. With the closing of the round, Casey Tansey, General Partner at USVP, will join Luminopia’s Board of Directors.
The funding will be used to support the full commercial rollout later this year of the company’s lead product, Luminopia, a software-based therapeutic for amblyopia, commonly known as “lazy eye,” the leading cause of vision loss among children. Luminopia was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) through the De Novo pathway in October 2021 and is currently available for prescription-use only through eye care professionals. Luminopia is currently being prescribed at top eye institutes and private practices across the country and is dispensed through a retail pharmacy.
“U.S. Venture Partners is excited to support the team at Luminopia and be part of their journey as they seek to transform care and improve patient outcomes in an area of medicine that has seen relatively little innovation,” said Casey Tansey, General Partner at U.S. Venture Partners. “We believe in the transformative power of their technology and the passionate and experienced team leading the launch.”
Luminopia is indicated for improvement in visual acuity in children, aged 4-7 with amblyopia associated with anisometropia and/or with mild strabismus. Luminopia allows patients to watch therapeutically modified TV shows and movies to improve their vision within a virtual reality (VR) headset and is the first FDA-approved digital therapeutic for children with amblyopia. Luminopia is also unique among prescription digital therapeutics, as its mechanism of action has a direct treatment effect on patients’ vision. During the Phase 3 pivotal trial, Luminopia improved vision by 1.8 lines on an eye chart in three months.
“We are thrilled to announce the successful close of our oversubscribed Series A round, which will allow us to advance our mission of pioneering a new class of treatments for the 15 million Americans who suffer from neuro-visual disorders,” said Scott Xiao, co-founder and CEO of Luminopia. “This significant investment not only reinforces the potential of our clinically validated amblyopia treatment, but also enables us to bring the first new therapy in decades to patients across the U.S. We are grateful to our investors for their support and belief in our vision.”
“Luminopia has the potential to revolutionize the way we treat amblyopia,” said Dr. Rupa Wong, associate professor of Ophthalmology at John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaii, and Managing Partner of Honolulu Eye Clinic. “By combining virtual reality with popular children’s media content, this innovative approach offers an engaging and personalized therapy option for patients and families in need. Luminopia’s binocular mechanism of action is a welcome advancement over monocular treatment options like eye-patching, which penalize the stronger eye without teaching the eyes how to work together properly.”
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