Jeito Capital co-leads $65 million Series A financing in EyeBio
- EyeBio is a newly launched global company developing the next generation of eye disease therapies
- Founded by two pioneers in ophthalmology drug development to build and advance diversified pipeline of ocular therapies
- Jeito selects EyeBio as its 8th investment and continues to build a strong & diversified portfolio of companies with groundbreaking therapies in areas of high unmet need
Paris, France, 22 February 2022 – Jeito Capital (“Jeito”), a leading independent private equity firm dedicated to biotech and biopharma, today announces that it has co-led a $65 million Series A financing round in EyeBiotech Limited (“EyeBio”), a privately held ophthalmology biotechnology company working to deliver a new generation of therapies for eye diseases. The Series A brings together a team of international executives and investors with an extensive track record for developing ground-breaking ophthalmology therapies.
Jeito co-led the financing with SV Health Investors and Samsara BioCapital, with additional financial backing from MRL Ventures. Jeito Capital’s newly appointed Partner, Andreas Wallnoefer, will join EyeBio’s Board of Directors, Kate Bingham, Managing Partner at SV Health Investors, and Srinivas Akkaraju, Founder and Managing General Partner at Samsara BioCapital.
EyeBio was founded in August 2021 by David Guyer, M.D., and Anthony P. Adamis, M.D., working with collaborators at SV Health Investors, who provided seed funding and helped to recruit leadership and to initiate pipeline development. Previously, Dr. Guyer and Dr. Adamis co-founded Eyetech Pharmaceuticals, where they developed and commercialized the first anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) drug for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in 2005.
EyeBio launches with a specific mission: to protect, restore, and improve vision for people who are underserved by available eye disease therapies. The company will use proceeds from the Series A to assemble and develop a diversified pipeline of product candidates that combines scientifically compelling targets with innovative translational approaches. The company has established a footprint in Europe to take advantage of the innovation-friendly environment for clinical trial development.
Prior to co-founding EyeBio, Dr. Guyer served as executive chairman and CEO of Iveric Bio, a biopharmaceutical company developing novel treatments for retinal diseases. Dr. Adamis previously served as Senior Vice President of Development Innovation at Genentech, a member of The Roche Group, where he led development programs in multiple therapeutic areas and oversaw the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of 25 drugs including in ophthalmology, e.g Vabysmo® (faricimab-svoa).
Rafaèle Tordjman, Founder and CEO at Jeito, said: “We are pleased to have co-led this financing in EyeBio alongside high-quality international investors. At Jeito, we are continuing to identify and invest in companies that have the potential to be market leaders in the development of new and improved therapies for patients in areas of unmet need. EyeBio is led by two pioneers in the field of ophthalmology together with an ambitious team of highly experienced experts with a proven track record in developing ground-breaking therapies. We look forward to supporting the growth of the company in the long term as it builds its disruptive pipeline and accelerates the development and approval of next generation therapies for patients.”
Prior to joining Jeito, Andreas Wallnoefer was General Partner at BioMed fund, and a senior executive at Roche and involved in several successful product development programs. He was instrumental in the development and securing FDA approval for Vabysmo® (faricimab-svoa) for the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) and diabetic macular edema (DME).
Andreas Wallnoefer, Partner at Jeito, said: “EyeBio is a new and exciting company that has the potential to disrupt the ophthalmology space, where there are a tremendous number of patients faced with a lack of durable and effective treatments. I look forward to working closely with the team and lending my expertise in product development to help guide the company in its ultimate goal of protecting, restoring, and improving vision for people who are underserved by currently available eye disease therapies.”
“Advances in research are revealing new opportunities to translate science into solutions that serve patients with eye diseases who have urgent and unaddressed medical needs,” said Dr. Guyer, Co-Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of EyeBio. “Patients and physicians deserve new and better therapies, which is why this team of serial disruptors has banded together to form EyeBio. We are launching at an exciting time, and we are equipped with the resources to make a significant impact.”
ENDS
About Jeito Capital
Jeito Capital is a global leading investment company with a patient benefit driven approach that finances and accelerates the development and growth of ground-breaking medical innovation. Jeito empowers and supports entrepreneurs 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 in Europe & the United States. Jeito Capital has €534 million under management. 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 on Twitter @Jeito_life or LinkedIn.
About EyeBio
Eyebiotech Limited (EyeBio) is a privately held ophthalmology biotechnology company dedicated to developing and delivering a new generation of therapies to protect, restore, and improve vision in patients with sight-threatening eye diseases. Founded in August 2021 by David Guyer, M.D. and Anthony P. Adamis, M.D., EyeBio has a leadership team composed of serial disruptors in ophthalmology drug development. With operations in the United States and the United Kingdom, EyeBio is building and advancing a pipeline of ocular therapies that combine scientifically robust targets with innovative translational approaches. For more information, please see www.eyebiotech.com.
For more information please contact:
Jeito Capital
Rafaèle Tordjman
Assia Mouhout, PA
assia@jeito.life
Tel : +33 6 76 49 37 94
Consilium Strategic Communications
Mary-Jane Elliott / Melissa Gardiner / Davide Salvi / Kris Lam
Jeito@consilium-comms.com
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3709 5700
TBWA Corporate
Marion Bougeard
Marion.bougeard@tbwa-corporate.com
Tel : +33 6 76 73 57 31
