Jeito Capital announces significant participation in upsized $207.5 million Series C financing in Aviceda Therapeutics to advance Lead Program AVD-104 for Geographic Atrophy into Pivotal Trials
- Investment will support the ongoing Phase 2b/3 and planned pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial for AVD-104 in geographic atrophy secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD); Aviceda’s ongoing Phase 2b/3 trial evaluating AVD-104 is fully enrolled, with 12-month primary endpoint data anticipated in the second half of 2025.
- Upsized financing round led by a syndicate of top institutional investors, including Jeito Capital, only European fund within the syndicate, bringing strategic expertise to accelerate Aviceda’s development across US and European markets.
- Investment demonstrates Jeito's continued strategic focus in ophthalmology, following recent exit of EyeBio to Merck & Co.
- Upsized financing round led by a syndicate of top institutional investors, including Jeito Capital, only European fund within the syndicate, bringing strategic expertise to accelerate Aviceda’s development across US and European markets.
Paris, France, January 7th, 2025 – Jeito Capital (“Jeito”), a global leading independent Private Equity fund dedicated to biopharma, announced today its significant participation in the upsized $207.5 million (€198 million1) Series C financing round in Aviceda Therapeutics (“Aviceda”), a private, clinical stage biotech company focused on developing next-generation immunomodulators with a clinical-stage ophthalmic candidate, AVD-104, for the treatment of geographic atrophy (GA), a vision-threatening condition secondary to advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
The financing round was co-led by renowned healthcare funds, Omega Funds and TCGX, with significant participation from Jeito Capital and Enavate Sciences, alongside leading investment firms Blue Owl Healthcare Opportunities, Longitude Capital, OrbiMed, Logos Capital, Marshall Wace, Catalio Capital Management, funds managed by abrdn Inc., and Digitalis Ventures.
The proceeds will support the ongoing Phase 2b/3 and planned pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial for AVD-104, its late-clinical stage Lead Program in geographic atrophy (GA) and the expansion into additional ophthalmic indications.
AVD-104’s dual mechanism of action targets immune modulation and complement inhibition and has already shown positive proof-of-concept efficacy in slowing GA lesion growth and preserving/enhancing visual function in a Phase 2a trial completed in early 2024, which underscores its potential for first-in-class efficacy and safety. Aviceda’s ongoing Phase 2b/3 trial evaluating two doses of AVD-104 versus avacincaptad pegol (Izervay) in patients with GA is fully enrolled, with 12-month primary endpoint data anticipated in the second half of 2025.
Rafaèle Tordjman, M.D., PhD and Sara Nayeem, M.D. of Enavate Sciences will join Aviceda’s Board of Director as Board Observers.
This investment builds on Jeito’s expertise in ophthalmology, following its recent exit of EyeBio, which was acquired by Merck & Co for up to $3 billion.
Jeito’s selection as the only European fund in the syndicate reflects its strategic value in supporting Aviceda’s development goals across both US and European markets. The fund’s global presence and deep understanding of the European healthcare landscape were key factors in management’s decision to include Jeito in this financing round.
Dr Rafaèle Tordjman, MD, PhD, Founder and CEO of Jeito Capital said: “Our investment in Aviceda Therapeutics perfectly illustrates our ambition to champion promising late-clinical stage biopharma with the potential to become global market leaders that will make a meaningful difference in patient lives. We have been impressed by Aviceda’s new mechanism whose first positive results represent a new hope for patients. We look forward to starting this new collaboration and bringing our European expertise and global approach to accelerate this transformative therapy for patients with high unmet needs.”
David Guyer, MD, Board Chair of Aviceda added: “We are pleased to welcome our new board members and a syndicate of top institutional investors. This raise reflects the strong conviction from investors in Aviceda’s lead program AVD-104 for geographic atrophy – a market poised for disruption and an improved standard of care, given current treatments offer limited benefits in visual improvements, lesion control, and safety. With this upsized financing, the company is well-capitalized to advance a pivotal program for AVD-104 in GA.”
About Jeito Capital
Jeito Capital is a global leading Private Equity fund with a patient benefit driven approach that finances and accelerates the development and growth of ground-breaking medical innovation. Jeito empowers and supports managers through its expert, integrated, multi-talented team and through the investment of significant capital to ensure the growth of companies, building market leaders in their respective therapeutic areas with accelerated patients’ access globally, especially in Europe and the United States. Jeito Capital has €534 million under management and a rapidly growing portfolio of investments. Jeito Capital is based in Paris with a presence in Europe and the United States.
For more information, please visit www.jeito.life or follow us on LinkedIn or X.
About Aviceda Therapeutics and AVD-104
Aviceda is a private, clinical stage biotechnology company located in Cambridge, MA, with a proprietary High Affinity Ligands of Siglecs (HALOS™) nanotechnology platform and a clinical-stage ophthalmic candidate, AVD-104, for the treatment of geographic atrophy secondary to age-related macular degeneration.
AVD-104 is an intravitreal glycan-coated nanoparticle with a dual mechanism of action that modulates critical inflammatory cellular and complement pathways through 1) direct deactivation of inflammatory microglia/macrophages’ phagocytic activity and repolarization of these activated microglia/macrophages to their healing state and 2) inhibition of complement cascade amplification.
Along with AVD-104, Aviceda has a broad pipeline of products in development in ophthalmology and multiple other therapeutic areas, including immunology, fibrosis, oncology, and neurology.
Learn more about Aviceda Therapeutics and follow the company on LinkedIn.
Contacts:
Jeito Capital
Rafaèle Tordjman, Founder & CEO
Jessica Fadel, EA
Tel: +33 6 33 44 25 47
Maior
Stéphanie Elbaz – Tel: +33 6 46 05 08 07
ICR Healthcare
Mary-Jane Elliott / Davide Salvi / Kris Lam
Jeito@icrhealthcare.com
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3709 5700
1 EUR/USD exchange rate: 1 EUR = 1.0498 USD date December 16, 2024 (source: Banque de France)
