IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AcuFocus, Inc. (www.AcuFocus.com), maker of an innovative corneal inlay, revolutionizing the treatment of near vision loss (presbyopia), today announced the closing of a $65 million financing round led by Cowen Healthcare Royalty Partners. Existing investors SV Life Sciences, Versant Ventures, Carlyle Group, Accuitive Medical Ventures, and Bausch & Lomb participated, with Medtronic also joining in the round. Cowen Royalty’s $30 million investment included a $25 million Synthetic RoyaltySM investment and participation in the $40 million in equity financing.
“The KAMRA® inlay offers a unique solution for the nearly 90 percent of individuals over the age of 45 who suffer from near vision loss today. With a strong global management team, outstanding clinical trial data and more than 7,000 inlays already implanted worldwide, AcuFocus is en route to long-term success,” commented Gregory B. Brown, M.D., Managing Director, Cowen Royalty.
The KAMRA inlay is currently available in select markets across Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and South America. The KAMRA inlay has CE mark for use in the European Union and is an investigational device in the United States. AcuFocus anticipates that the Company’s business will continue to expand with the backing it has received from surgeons and industry experts worldwide.
“We are thrilled with this financial support from Cowen Royalty and our existing investors as we prepare to submit to the FDA early 2012,” said Ed Peterson, AcuFocus President and Chief Executive Officer. “This funding gives us the ability to scale our business by expanding commercially into new and existing markets on a global basis.”
“Presbyopia is not a disease and cannot be prevented; it is simply the normal aging process of the eye. Previously, there has been no real solution for presbyopia, but I believe that the KAMRA inlay now fills this gap,” states Richard Lindstrom, M.D., Minnesota Eye Consultants. “With 80 percent of refractive procedures occurring outside of the US, the KAMRA inlay is clearly a global business.”
About AcuFocus
AcuFocus, Inc., a privately held company
located in Irvine, California, was founded in 2001 by the Innovation
Factory, a medical device incubator based in Atlanta, Georgia. The
company is developing the KAMRA inlay for the treatment of near vision
loss (presbyopia). The KAMRA Inlay is an intra corneal inlay that is
designed to create a small aperture effect, allowing the eye to see near
and intermediate objects more clearly while maintaining distance vision.
For more information about AcuFocus please visit www.AcuFocus.com.
To learn more about the KAMRA inlay please visit www.KAMRA.com
About Cowen Healthcare Royalty Partners
Cowen Healthcare
Royalty Partners is a global healthcare investment firm with more than
$1.5 billion under management. The Firm invests principally in
commercial-stage healthcare companies and products through royalty
acquisitions and structured financings. Cowen Royalty's investment team
has over 100 years of healthcare related experience including principal
investing, structured finance, healthcare industry senior management,
Wall Street research and consulting, and scientific and clinical
experience. For more information, visit www.cowenroyalty.com.
KAMRA® is a trademark of AcuFocus, Inc.
Synthetic RoyaltySM
is a service mark of Cowen Healthcare Royalty Management, LLC