PERTH, Australia – On the heels of positive phase IIb data, Melbourne-based Opthea Ltd. announced a private placement of AU$50 million (US$33.87 million) from institutional investors in Australia and the U.K. to advance lead candidate OPT-302 to phase III trials in wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Trefoil Therapeutics Inc.'s $28 million from an oversubscribed series A financing will let the company finish a phase IIa proof-of-concept study as researchers edge toward attacking corneal endothelial dystrophy, including Fuchs dystrophy, a disease that leads to the deterioration of the endothelial layer on the back surface of the cornea.