Beacon Therapeutics, a leading ophthalmic gene therapy company with a goal of saving and restoring the vision of patients with blinding retinal diseases, announced it has raised $170 million in Series B funding.
Forbion led the financing – which included existing investors Syncona Limited, Oxford Science Enterprises, and the University of Oxford – and initial investments from TCGX and Advent Life Sciences. The funding will be used to support the continued clinical development of Beacon’s lead asset, AGTC-501 for X-Linked Retinitis Pigmentosa (XLRP) and generate Phase 1/2 clinical trial data for the Company’s Dry Age-related Macular Degeneration (dAMD) program.
Beacon Therapeutics also appointed Dmitrij Hristodorov and Wouter Joustra, General Partners of Forbion, and Cariad Chester, Managing Partner of TCGX, to its Board. And Dominic Schmidt, General Partner of Advent Life Sciences, joins as a Board Observer.
Beacon focuses on orphan and prevalent diseases, including XLRP, a blinding orphan disease for which there is no available treatment, and dAMD. And AGTC-501, the company’s lead asset, is currently in a registrational clinical trial for the treatment of XLRP. AGTC-501 expresses the full length RPGR protein, thus addressing all photoreceptor damage caused by XLRP, including both rod and cone loss.
Beacon raised about $290 million in funding to date. And this funding round follows several clinical milestones for the company, including the first patient dosed in the VISTA registrational trial for AGTC-501, the initiation of the Phase II DAWN trial and the presentation of positive 12-month interim results of the Phase 2 SKYLINE trial at the 47th Annual Macula Society Meeting demonstrating the precision, effectiveness and safety of Beacon’s therapeutic interventions.
J.P. Morgan acted as the sole placement agent to Beacon Therapeutics for this transaction.
KEY QUOTES:
“We are focused on progressing our pipeline of ophthalmic gene therapies to save and restore the vision of patients with a range of prevalent and rare retinal diseases that result in blindness. I am confident that along with the addition of Dmitrij Hristodorov, Wouter Joustra and Cariad Chester to the Beacon Board, these funds will support the ongoing development of our late-stage and pre-clinical pipeline and enable acceleration of the development of AGTC-501 as we progress through the clinic and toward commercialization.”
– David Fellows, Chief Executive Officer of Beacon Therapeutics
“Forbion is pleased to support Beacon Therapeutics at this critical juncture in the development of its pipeline of pioneering ophthalmic gene therapies. Beacon’s deep expertise and renowned management bench give us confidence in the plan to build a leading retinal gene therapy company.”
– Dmitrij Hristodorov, General Partner at Forbion
“Syncona’s continued backing of Beacon Therapeutics is a testament to the Company’s proven leadership team and innovative approach to developing gene therapies for retinal diseases. This financing and the partnership of this high-quality syndicate will propel Beacon’s pipeline and enable the Company to advance its programs for both rare and prevalent ophthalmic diseases.”
– Elisa Petris, Lead Partner at Syncona Investment Management Limited and Board Director of Beacon Therapeutics
