RadianceTx, a trademark of ophthalmic therapeutic firm Radiance Therapeutics, has raised $1m first tranche of a targeted $7m round of financing to develop glaucoma therapy.

Radiance

Image: Radiance secures $1m to develop new glaucoma therapy.Photo: Courtesy of paul morris/Unsplash

The company will use the investment to fund development of its Beta Ophthalmic System for delivery of beta irradiation therapy to enhance glaucoma surgery outcomes.

This new beta therapy has been validated in three clinical studies conducted by ophthalmic research teams. It has shown to improve glaucoma surgery outcomes.

Recently, a study reported odds ratios that beta irradiation therapy patients were five and a half times more likely to experience lower intraocular pressure at the end of one year compared to patients treated with the current standard care.

Glaucoma is considered to be one of the leading causes of irreversible blindness. A highly likely way to prevent vision loss from glaucoma is lower intraocular pressure with drainage surgery. In this surgery, the fluid in the eye is shunted out of the eye, through a channel created by a trabeculectomy procedure or by a flow-controlled drainage device placed during Minimally Invasive Glaucoma Surgery (MIGS).

Even with compelling therapeutic advantages over nonsurgical treatments, drainage surgery and devices are clinically limited by postoperative scarring.

RadianceTx Beta Ophthalmic System has been designed to topically apply beta therapy to trabeculectomy or MIGS drainage device implantation sites.

Presently, scarring prevention involves complex and time-consuming intra-operative application of antimetabolites (chemotherapy drugs) and the results in failure rate is approaching 50% at three years.

The system has been designed to optimise surgical workflow efficiency by requiring only 25 seconds for beta therapy application, minimising stray dosing to non-target tissues and eliminating medical staff from getting exposed to hazardous chemotherapy drugs.

RadianceTx board of directors member and consultant ophthalmic surgeon and Professor of Glaucoma Studies and Wound Healing, Sir Peng Khaw said: “For glaucoma surgery to be maximally successful, anti-scarring therapies must be effective, consistent in dosage as well as fast and very easy to administer.

“In combination with new glaucoma drainage devices, RadianceTx Beta Ophthalmic System could revolutionize the treatment of glaucoma.”