California startup ClarVista Medical said it raised a $14 million Series B round slated for development of its adjustable post-cataract surgery intraocular lens replacement. Cycad Group and Windham Venture Partners co-led the round, along with existing investor New Enterprise Associates, ClarVista said.
CEO Paul McLean said the money will help propel the "next phase" of development for ClarVista’s Harmoni modular intraocular lens system. Harmoni consists of 2 parts, a positioning device and an optical lens that can be cheaply and safely upgraded or adjusted over time based on a patient’s evolving vision.
ClarVista is hoping to improve on current treatment for cataracts, which the company said can lead to residual post-surgical refractive error. Existing surgical methods to address this can be costly, time-consuming and fraught with risks that threaten vision, ClarVista said.
"This financing positions ClarVista to build off the clinical momentum generated from our first-in-human study completed last year, and we are excited to move forward into the next stage of clinical studies," McLean said in prepared remarks.
Competitors include Abbott (NYSE:ABT), which has the TECNIC intraocular lens to improve patients’ ability to focus at different distances after cataract surgery. ClarVista launched in 2012, spun out from the Prospex Medical medical device incubator. It conducted 1st-in-human testing of Harmoni from 2012 through 2014, according to the company.