Unmet medical need and market size continue to drive venture investors to ophthalmic drug plays focused on diseases that blind.

Unmet medical need and market size continue to drive venture investors to ophthalmic drug plays focused on diseases that blind. This interest is fueled by a stable pool of acquirers and the ability to in-license innovative, clinically validated compounds, providing VCs with a jump start to a potential exit.

The lesson that entrepreneurs and VCs seem to be taking from the fast-paced ophthalmology sector is the need for shorter development time frames and clinical candidates with reduced risk. Among others, MacuSight, Danube, and Lux, profiled here, are to one extent or another revisiting the existing pharmacopeia to test ophthalmic indications for existing compounds.

Biotech start-up Danube Pharmaceuticals Inc. has in-licensed what it calls the only dual-mechanism of action, orally available small molecule in clinical testing for glaucoma, a leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide.