Eyevensys has received an equity investment by the Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund (BIVF). Eyevensys is a developer of a new process for non-viral gene therapy using electrotransfer that enables prolonged production of therapeutic proteins for the treatment of ocular disease. Additionally, Dr. Michel Pairet, Boehringer’s head of non-clinical R&D, has been appointed to the company’s board of directors.

 
This equity investment initiates Eyevensys’ next round of funding, which aims to fund the business through the completion of Phase IIa trials. Eyevensys is currently focusing on two ophthalmological indications, uveitis, a rare disease, and age-related macular degeneration, a pathology that is becoming more prevalent as a result of the aging population.
 
“BIVF’s equity investment brings us credibility, further raises our profile and gives us access to their wealth of experience in pharmaceutical and biotechnology R&D. This sends a strong signal to our target market,” said Dr. Ivan Cohen-Tanugi, chairman of Eyevensys. “Dr. Michel Pairet is well known in our industry. His experience, combined with the experience of the BIVF team, will undoubtedly help us to strengthen our development. We plan to complete a new round of funding between now and June. Discussions are already underway with potential new investors.”


 
“Eyevensys’ novel approach, which targets pathologies where few therapies are available and offers potential advantages in terms of effectiveness, administration and tolerability, makes it a perfect fit with the BIVF’s criteria for investment,” said Dr. Pairet at Boehringer Ingelheim. “In the future, medicine will increasingly rely on a combination of technologies, as we see here with the combination of gene therapy with a medical device.”