Avedro said today it closed a $32 million round of equity financing to support the global distribution of its KXL corneal cross-linking platform and commercialization of its Mosaic photorefractive intrastromal cross-linking system.
The round was led by new investors InterWest Partners and OrbiMed and joined by several existing investors, Waltham, Mass.-based Avedro said.
“The Avedro corneal cross-linking technology is eagerly awaited by many in the eye care community. This new investment will provide the resources needed to commercialize in the United States, if FDA approval is received, as well as help fund the longer term vision of PiXL as a non-invasive refractive procedure,” InterWest GP Dr. Gil Kliman said in a press release.
Upon closing the transaction, the company said it reorganized its board of directors to add InterWest’s Gil Gliman and OrbiMed’s Jonathan Silverstein.
“Avedro is pleased to partner with InterWest and OrbiMed as new investors. Proceeds from this financing provide the resources we need to launch in the US and continue to aggressively develop our PiXL procedure outside of the US for refractive correction and post-cataract surgery applications,” Avedro CEO David Muller said in prepared remarks.
The company’s cross-linking system combines UVA irradiation from the KXL device with riboflavin ophthalmic solution to treat both Keratoconus and post-lasik ectasia which are progressive conditions that can threaten patient’s eyesight.
Avedra said it re-submitted its new drug application to the FDA for the corneal cross-linking technology, and expects an application action date in April next year.
Earlier this month, Avedro said it won Chinese Food and Drug Administration approval for its KXL cross-linking eye treatment system for treating keratoconus and post-lasic ectasia.
Avedro said the clearance made the KXL system the 1st and only corneal coss-linking device to win approval in the People’s Republic of China.