Ivantis raises $25m in Series C to support Hydrus microstent

Ivantis said today it raised $25 million in a Series C round of financing to support its Hydrus microstent device designed for treating glaucoma.

The round was led by newly invested RA Capital Management and joined by new investor Mérieux Développement and existing investors.

Money raised will extend Irvine, Calif.-based Ivantis’ runway into 2020 and help support US commercialization of the Hydrus Microstent upon receiving FDA approval, which the company expects to receive in 2018.

“We are pleased to complete this financing, which we expect will fund Ivantis well beyond the Hydrus microstent launch, and at the same time we warmly welcome RA Capital Management and Merieux Developpement to our multinational syndicate of valued investors. With well-earned reputations for deep diligence and a commitment to their portfolio companies, we couldn’t ask for better partners for this next exciting stage of our company’s evolution,” Ivantis CEO & prez Dave Van Meter said in a prepared statement.

The Hydrus microstent is designed for minimally invasive microsurgical procedures to reduce eye pressure in patients with glaucoma. The device is multi-modal, the company said, by creating a large opening through the trabecular meshwork and dilating and scaffolding the conventional pathway through which fluid exits the eye.

“Having mapped out every glaucoma treatment technology in the world, we had long suspected that Ivantis was on the verge of a tremendous breakthrough. In collaboration with our highly knowledgeable co-investors at Mérieux Développement, our diligence confirmed that Ivantis has run world-class clinical trials that, in our assessment, clearly demonstrated that Hydrus microstent offers the best combination of efficacy and safety in the history of glaucoma devices. A key competitive advantage is that the device is targeted to Schlemm’s canal, the region of the eye all physicians we spoke with said they prefer to work in. The procedure is so straightforward that we believe it could even be performed independently of cataract surgery, essentially marrying the durable efficacy of an implanted device with the ubiquity of laser. Millions of patients around the world stand to benefit.” RA Capital Management portfolio manager Peter Kolchinsky said in a press release.

The company’s Hydrus microstent is currently in a US pivotal trial evaluating the use of the device in patients who are undergoing cataract surgery.

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