HC Royalty Announces Follow-on Investment in AcuFocus
Irvine, CA – September 3, 2014— AcuFocus, Inc. (www.acufocus.com), the global leader in corneal inlay technology, today announced the completion of $21 million in funding. The financing was oversubscribed and all existing AcuFocus investors participated, including HealthCare Royalty Partners, SV Life Sciences, Versant Ventures, Carlyle Group, Accuitive Medical Ventures and Medtronic.
AcuFocus developed the KAMRATM inlay for the treatment of presbyopia, the natural loss of near vision that eventually affects everyone over the age of 40. The KAMRA inlay, which uses a small aperture effect to allow patients to see near objects more clearly while maintaining distance vision, was granted the CE Mark in 2005 and is currently available in many countries outside the United States.
AcuFocus plans to use the proceeds from this latest funding round to continue to execute its international growth plans, advance research and development projects that leverage its small aperture expertise and establish a commercial infrastructure in the United States, where the company is working closely with the FDA toward approval of the KAMRA inlay.
“We are pleased to have the continued support of all our investment partners as we prepare our business for the next phase of growth,” said Jim Mazzo, AcuFocus executive chairman and chief executive officer. “While we work closely with the FDA on advancing our PMA submission for the KAMRA inlay, we are taking steps to expand our sales and marketing organization. We are also focusing significant R&D resources on development of a new presbyopia-‐correcting intraocular lens that we plan to introduce soon. ”
“We are confident in the strength and performance of the AcuFocus technology, strategy and management team to deliver proven and reliable solutions for presbyopes who want a fuller range of vision without glasses,” said James Garvey, chairman emeritus of SV Life Sciences.
About Presbyopia
Presbyopia occurs as part of the normal aging process and occurs when the crystalline lens of the eye loses its flexibility, making it difficult to focus on close objects. Presbyopia may seem to occur suddenly, but the actual loss of flexibility takes place over a number of years, usually becoming noticeable in the early to mid-‐40’s. Presbyopia is not a disease and cannot be prevented. Traditionally, most people with presbyopia use reading glasses or bifocals to improve their near vision.
About AcuFocus
AcuFocus, Inc., a privately held company located in Irvine, CA, developed the KAMRA inlay for the treatment of near vision loss (presbyopia). The KAMRA inlay is an intra-‐corneal inlay designed to create a small aperture effect, allowing the eye to see near and intermediate objects more clearly while maintaining distance vision. By applying the “depth-‐of-‐focus” principle commonly used in photography, the KAMRA inlay controls light transmission, allowing only central rays to reach the retina through a fixed 1.6 mm aperture. More than 20,000 KAMRA inlays have been implanted and it is commercially approved in over 50 countries worldwide. The KAMRA inlay is not yet approved for sale in the United States and is pending FDA approval. AcuFocus has also developed a presbyopia-‐correcting intraocular lens that uses the same small aperture effect and would be appropriate for patients undergoing cataract surgery or refractive lens exchange. The company developed the AcuTarget HD in collaboration with Visiometrics. It combines five diagnostic tools into one state-‐of-‐the-‐art instrument to provide clinicians with objective data to support patient selection, centration and postoperative management. The AcuTarget HD is available for sale in many countries worldwide, including the United States. For more information about the KAMRA inlay and AcuTarget HD from AcuFocus, please visit www.acufocus.com. KAMRA and AcuTarget HD are trademarks of AcuFocus, Inc.
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