RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Envisia Therapeutics, a new biotechnology company formed by Liquidia Technologies, today announced the Company’s debut, which is backed by $25 million in Series A financing. Envisia will focus on addressing unmet medical needs in various areas of ophthalmology. Envisia’s lead product, ENV515, is an extended-release formulation of a prostaglandin analogue. ENV515 has the potential to offer glaucoma patients an innovative product that can provide a sustained reduction in intraocular pressure (IOP) over many months after single administration.
“Non-compliance continues to be a significant problem when treating patients with glaucoma. It can lead to disease progression and ultimately blindness,” said renowned glaucoma specialist Ike Ahmed, MD, from the University of Toronto. “With ENV515, Envisia brings a potentially revolutionary approach to advancing glaucoma pharmacotherapy.”
In addition to ENV515, Envisia is using its proprietary PRINT® (Particle Replication In Non-Wetting Templates) technology platform to create a pipeline of small and large molecule particle-based ocular therapeutics. To fully leverage this technology and rapidly advance the product pipeline, Envisia has assembled a talented and dedicated ophthalmology research and development team.
“Envisia and the PRINT platform have the potential to reinvent approaches to ocular therapies, radically increase product performance and, ultimately, improve patient outcomes,” said Ben Yerxa, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer of Envisia.
Investors in Envisia include Canaan Partners, New Enterprise Associates, Pappas Ventures, Morningside Technology Ventures and Wakefield Group. The money will be used to advance ENV515 and other undisclosed follow-on programs to critical R&D milestones. Neal Fowler and his leadership team will continue to lead both Envisia and Liquidia.
“The success of multiple programs using the PRINT platform over the last several years has led to a wide range of opportunities in multiple therapeutic areas,” said Neal Fowler, Chief Executive Officer of Envisia. “With the formation and financing of Envisia, now we have the ability for both companies to optimally focus on their respective therapeutic areas—ophthalmology for Envisia, and vaccines and inhaled therapeutics for Liquidia.”
ABOUT ENVISIA THERAPEUTICS™
Envisia Therapeutics, formed by Liquidia Technologies in 2013, is a privately held biotechnology company focused on the development of novel ocular therapies. Envisia is leveraging the unique and powerful properties of the PRINT® platform to develop therapies for a variety of ocular conditions, the most advanced of which is ENV515, for the treatment of glaucoma. ENV515 is a novel extended-release formulation of a prostaglandin analogue formulation. It has the potential to significantly limit disease progression and vision loss through improved product performance and patient compliance. Envisia is located in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. For more information, please go to www.envisiatherapeutics.com
ABOUT LIQUIDIA TECHNOLOGIES®
Liquidia Technologies, founded in 2004, is a privately held biotechnology company that is developing novel vaccines and inhaled therapeutics that leverage the unique and powerful properties of the PRINT® platform. Liquidia has developed a cGMP nanotechnology manufacturing process capable of fabricating clinical and commercial quantities of monodisperse, precisely engineered particles. Collaboration partners, including GSK and PATH, are a critical element of Liquidia’s strategy to rapidly advance vaccines and inhaled therapeutics to patients. Liquidia is located in Research Triangle Park, NC. For more information, please go to www.liquidia.com.
ABOUT THE PRINT® PLATFORM
By leveraging precise fabrication techniques of the semiconductor industry, the PRINT® (Particle Replication In Non-Wetting Templates) platform is the only platform in the world with the ability to rapidly design and manufacture precisely engineered particles of virtually any size, shape or chemistry, including small molecule active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), biologic APIs, polymeric drug delivery systems, targeted and triggered release chemistries and combinations thereof. The unique ability to rationally design and precisely engineer micro- and nanoparticles enables scientists to explore new product frontiers that, until now, have otherwise been out of reach for the life sciences industry.
