Chaomu Technology (Beijing) Co. Ltd. has raised nearly ¥100 million (US$14 million) in a series A+ round to develop its ophthalmic medical devices. The proceeds from the financing will be used for the clinical trials of its electromodulation product for nystagmus and the development of implantable medical chips, as well as to speed up the development of products for myopia correction. Following the financing, Beijing-based Chaomu will expand to the global market by looking for collaborations with international institutions. It plans to obtain marketing approvals for its ophthalmic medical devices in the U.S. and Europe.
“If you can see the future, you can change it. People say your eyes are the window to your soul, but the eyes are actually the window to your future health,” Toku Eyes Ltd. Founder and CEO Ehsan Vaghefi told BioWorld.
Tears shed today by patients frustrated by an inability to obtain a diagnosis could speed diagnoses for others in the future. Researchers at Wenzhou Medical University, China, have developed a new nano membrane system, dubbed I-Tears, that harvests and purifies tiny droplets called exosomes from tears, allowing rapid analysis for disease biomarkers.
The FDA’s ability, or lack thereof, to churn out guidances is not always the stuff of industrial outrage, but manufacturers of laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) systems might find the timing of a new draft guidance on the procedure somewhat odd. The draft guidance arrives nearly a decade and a half after an April 2008 advisory hearing.
Abbvie Inc. and Istar Medical SA inked a deal to develop and commercialize Istar’s Miniject device to treat patients with primary open-angle glaucoma. The minimally invasive glaucoma surgical (MIGS) device won CE mark approval in November and has been available in some European countries since early 2022.
The U.S. FDA gave the greenlight to Acufocus Inc. for its IC-8 Apthera intraocular lens (IOL) for the treatment of cataracts. Like most other IOLs implanted as part of cataract surgery, the small aperture Apthera provides excellent distance vision. It distinguishes itself by also providing clear intermediate and near vision, essentially eliminating the blurring of close objects or words common as people age and develop presbyopia.
Forsight Robotics Ltd. amassed up to $55 million in series A financing led by Adani Group, with participation by existing investors Eclipse Ventures and Mithril Capital. The new funds will be used to further development of Forsight’s Oryom system, a surgical platform for fully robotic cataract surgery.
Ophthalmic and microsurgery device maker Carl Zeiss Meditec AG is investing in regenerative medicine startup Precise Bio Ltd. to jointly develop 4D bio-fabricated corneal transplants for diseases that require endothelial keratoplasty and natural lenticule transplants. Under the terms of the agreement, Carl Zeiss Meditec will lead a series B financing round in Precise Bio and fund development of two cornea transplant products.
Aldeyra Therapeutics Inc. CEO Todd Brady said that, with new data from a crossover trial with reproxalap in dry eye disease (DED), the question of “approvability has been put to bed,” and the company plans a pre-NDA meeting with U.S. FDA in the third quarter of this year.
RSS
