Healome Therapeutics, a University of Birmingham spinout developing a proprietary eye-drop matrix platform for ocular surface diseases, announced it has raised an oversubscribed £2 million seed funding round. The financing was led by Empirical Ventures, with participation from DEBRA Research, Cure EB, Oshen Bio, and existing investor SFC Capital.
The new capital will be used to advance the company’s preclinical development program, scale manufacturing, engage with regulators including the UK’s MHRA and the U.S. FDA, and prepare for first-in-human clinical studies expected to begin in 2027.
Healome is addressing a longstanding challenge in ophthalmology: the limited effectiveness of conventional eye drops. Standard eye drops typically remain on the eye’s surface for only a few minutes, often requiring patients to administer treatments many times each day. This contributes to poor adherence, particularly among people with chronic eye conditions. The company estimates that dry eye disease alone affects more than 350 million people globally and represents a market worth approximately $5 billion, while the broader ocular surface disease market exceeds $12 billion.
The company’s technology is designed to behave as a liquid during administration before restructuring into a transparent, lubricating protective matrix on the eye’s surface. This extended residence time enables more sustained drug delivery and supports a wide range of therapeutic payloads, from small molecules to biologics. In preclinical studies, the platform has successfully delivered an anti-scarring biologic to severely injured and infected corneas, resulting in rapid healing with minimal side effects.
Healome is initially targeting dry eye disease, ocular surface inflammation, corneal injuries, chronic ophthalmic drug delivery, and rare diseases that cause severe ocular surface damage. The company has built intellectual property around five patent families covering its proprietary matrix architecture, which utilizes established pharmaceutical- and food-grade polymers without requiring complex chemical modifications that can complicate manufacturing or regulatory approval.
Part of the funding will also accelerate development for ocular complications associated with Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB), a rare genetic disease affecting roughly 500,000 people worldwide. Between 5% and 20% of EB patients experience serious eye complications, including chronic pain, recurrent corneal abrasions, and vision-threatening scarring. Investments from DEBRA Research and Cure EB are intended to support therapies targeting these unmet medical needs.
