£10m investment for Belfast drug firm treating eye disease

A medical technology company founded by Queen’s University academics has received a £10m investment.

Re-Vana Therapeutics, which was set up in 2016, develops products to improve the delivery of drugs for chronic eye diseases, increasing the quality of care for patients.

The latest investment is led by US venture capital firm Visionary Ventures.

The money will allow the firm to expand its operations and development teams.

Re-Vana was founded by Professor Raj Thakur and Queen’s University Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor David Jones.

Welcoming the investment, Professor Jones said: “This multi million pound investment reflects the expertise and innovation that Northern Ireland generates and we are delighted that Re-Vana can continue its ground breaking work in ophthalmology.”

Professor Thakur said the technology they are developing is aimed at reducing the frequency of injections required to treat a wide range of retinal diseases.

The other investors in the funding round are ExSight Ventures, InFocus Capital Partners and existing U.K. investors, Qubis Ltd, Co-Fund NI, and TechStart Ventures.