GreyBug zaps $1.5m

GreyBug, a John Hopkins spin-out focused on eye diseases, has raised $1.74m in a series A2 round.

The round was co-led by new investor Hatteras Venture Partners and existing backer Maryland Venture Fund, and adds to a series A round held in 2013 for $1.5m. This is in addition to four Small Business Innovation Research grant awards the company has secured in the past year, totalling $650,000. As part of the A2 round, Christy Shaffer of Hatteras Venture Partners has been named chair of GreyBug’s board of directors.

The funding will be used to further develop GreyBug’s main eye treatment candidate, GB-102. The candidate has been developed to treat age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a major cause of blindness in people over 50, affecting between 30-50 million people globally. Occurring in two varieties – dry and wet – GreyBug will treat the latter and more severe form of AMD.

The company is also developing therapies for other eye diseases, including glaucoma.

Michael O’Rourke, CEO of GrayBug, said: “This financing from new and existing investors is a testament to the potential of GB-102 and of our proprietary micro- and nanoparticle injectable drug delivery technology. We are especially fortunate to have Christy as Chair of our Board. Her proven business acumen and ophthalmic industry expertise will be invaluable as we advance GB-102 through preclinical development to submission of an IND, and seek to establish strategic industry partnerships that leverage our proprietary sustained-release drug delivery science.”