ONL Therapeutics has closed on the first $15m Series C financing tranche to support the advancement of ONL1204 Ophthalmic Solution into a Phase II trial in macula-off rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) patients.

The trial will evaluate the safety and efficacy of ONL1204 Ophthalmic Solution in these patients.

The first tranche of Series C financing will also support the company’s regulatory preparations for Phase II programmes in GA and OAG, in addition to the Phase II trial in RRD.

ONL Therapeutics David Esposito CEO said: “We expect to initiate this new US-based Phase II study in acute retinal detachment next quarter, and to continue to generate data throughout the year from our two ongoing chronic Phase Ib studies in geographic atrophy (GA) associated with age-related macular degeneration and progressing open-angle glaucoma (OAG) that are being conducted in Australia and New Zealand.”

The Series C Preferred Stock financing round was led by Bios Partners and included new investors Alpine Visionary Ventures, Visionary Ventures, and Mayewell Capital, and existing investors Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Kaitai Capital, PSQ Capital, and ExSight Ventures.

Other existing investors who took part in the funding round include the Michigan Capital Network Venture Fund III, the University of Michigan’s Michigan Investment in New Technology Startups (MINTS) programme, Western Michigan University’s Biosciences Research and Commercialization Center, and the Capital Community Angels.

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The new, first-in-class, small molecule Fas inhibitor ONL1204 has been designed for protecting key retinal cells, including photoreceptors, from cell death.

The company’s later-stage development programme for ONL1204 includes a Phase II trial in the US to treat macula-off retinal detachment, a condition for which the compound received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) orphan drug designation.