Ikarovec’s seed round extension brings total to £8M with proceeds to advance lead sight loss programme towards clinic
- Funds raised to continue advanced pre-clinical trials of novel gene therapies to treat blindness and major chronic eye disease
- Led by LifeArc Ventures and Parkwalk Advisors, with participation from the UK Innovation, Science and Seed Fund, managed by Future Planet Capital (UKI2S)
- Dr Jean-Philippe Combal of Vivet Therapeutics and SpliceBio appointed as NED
Norwich, UK, October 23 2024 – Ikarovec, which is developing novel bicistronic gene therapies for major chronic eye diseases, is pleased to announce that it has extended its seed funding round by £5M, bringing the total raised to £8M. The financing was led by existing investors LifeArc Ventures and Parkwalk Advisors, with UKI2S (managed by Future Planet Capital) also participating in the round. The company is moving towards IND-enabling studies for its lead programme, IKC159V, in geographic atrophy (GA), which causes major sight loss in millions of people globally.
The funds raised will enable the company to continue advanced preclinical studies with IKC159V, a novel bicistronic gene therapy that secretes two clinically relevant proteins that reduce overall oxidative stress and inflammation, key hallmarks of GA, in one injection. They also protect the retinal cells from atrophy and reduce the overall risk of conversion of GA to wet age-related macular degeneration. Other preclinical work and manufacturing process development will also take place with the funding.
IKC159V has shown robust and differentiated data in multiple disease relevant models, with superior efficacy to single gene therapies in comparative studies. Ikarovec has demonstrated that the gene therapy protects key retinal cells from damage whilst minimising vessel leakage and instability, processes that lead to disease progression.
Dr Katie Binley, CSO of Ikarovec, said ‘We’re excited by the progress we’ve made with our lead programme for geographic atrophy and are advancing it towards the clinic as quickly as possible. Ikarovec would like to thank its investors for their continued support to enable us to do this and to advance our pipeline of gene therapies for major eye diseases.’
Dr David Guyer, Chairman of Ikarovec, added ‘Ikarovec’s approach of expressing clinically relevant and synergistically acting proteins via bicistronic vectors differentiates it in the ophthalmic gene therapy area. The company is grateful for the ongoing recognition of its potential by LifeArc Ventures, Parkwalk Advisors and UKI2S as we develop important new products for devastating eye conditions.
In addition, the company is excited to welcome Dr Jean-Philippe Combal of Vivet Therapeutics and SpliceBio to the Board as a Non-Executive Director. He brings extensive experience in both ophthalmic product development and gene therapy through positions at GenSight Biologics and Sanofi-Fovea.’
For further information, please contact
Emma Palmer Foster, Communications + 44 (0)7880 787185
Notes for Editors
About Ikarovec
Established in 2018, Ikarovec is developing novel, differentiated gene therapies for major ophthalmic indications. Its lead product, a bicistronic gene therapy for geographic atrophy, is in late preclinical studies, and earlier programmes are targeting wet age-related macular degeneration and other chronic ophthalmic indications.
The company’s lead programme for geographic atrophy addresses a disease that leads to significant vision loss, affecting 5 million people worldwide. Current treatment options (that are only approved in the US) require regular injections directly into the eye. Ikarovec’s novel bicistronic gene therapy leads to the expression of two therapeutic proteins, targeting multiple causes of the disease with a single injection.
Ikarovec has shown in multiple clinically relevant models that its gene therapy protects key retinal cells from damage, one of the key processes that leads to disease progression. Experiments also demonstrate use of its therapy reduces the formation of new blood vessels at the back of the eye. In comparative studies they also show better results when compared to single gene therapy modalities.
Built as a spin out of Quethera (bought by Astellas in 2018), Ikarovec was founded with a £2.5m seed round with funding from UKI2S, LifeArc Ventures and Parkwalk Advisors and a £0.5M non-dilutive grant awarded from Innovate UK. There is an experienced senior team in place with business development and commercial success in ophthalmology and gene therapy – Dr Katie Binley (ex Oxford Biomedica) is Chief Scientific Officer and Dr David Guyer of EyeBio is Chairman. Ikarovec is based at Norwich Research Park and can be followed on LinkedIn.
About Parkwalk
Parkwalk is the largest growth EIS fund manager, backing world-changing technologies emerging from the UK’s leading universities and research institutions. With £500m of assets under management, it has invested in over 180 companies across its award-winning Parkwalk Opportunities and Knowledge Intensive EIS Funds, as well as the enterprise and innovation funds Parkwalk manages for the Universities of Cambridge, Oxford, Bristol and Imperial College.
Parkwalk invests in businesses creating solutions to real-world challenges, with IP-protected innovations, across a range of sectors including life sciences, AI, quantum computing, advanced materials, genomics, cleantech, future of mobility, medtech and big data.
For more information please go to: https://parkwalkadvisors.com/
About LifeArc Ventures
LifeArc is a self-funded medical research charity with more than 25 years of translating early science into health care treatment including a diagnostic for antibiotic resistance and four licensed medicines. Our model is built on collaboration, and through our LifeArc Ventures team, we invest in Seed and Series A stage companies with significant follow-on investment reserved for successful portfolio companies. Our ventures approach focuses on investing in novel translational science and technology with a dual goal of generating financial returns to the charity and positive impact for patients.
Find out more on https://lifearcventures.com or follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter (@LifeArcVentures).
About UK Innovation and Science Seed Fund (UKI2S)
- UKI2S is a national seed investment fund that nurtures innovative businesses to leverage private investment and grow jobs, recycling profits from the realisation of our investments into the next generation of impactful UK companies.
- We invest in innovations emerging from the UK’s publicly funded science and knowledge base. We specialise in engineering, biology, defence & security, fusion energy, to facilitate sustainable growth, enhance the health and security of society, improve productivity, and deliver economic gains emerging from the UK’s public funding portfolio.
- Our investment decisions are based on both the potential societal impact of technologies and the potential for financial return.
- The Fund has a long history of building a substantial track record of companies that between them have attracted over £800m of later stage investment, 30 times the Fund’s original investment.
- The fund is backed by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), Ministry of Defence (“MOD”), the Department of Science Innovation and Technology(“[DSIT]”), the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and other public bodies. It is independently managed by Future Planet Capital (Ventures) Ltd, the impact-led, global venture capital firm.