LumiThera closes second Series C financing round

January 13, 2020 By Sean Whooley

LumiThera announced today that it closed the second tranche of its Series C financing round with more than $10 million raised.

The photobiomodulation (PBM) treatment developer earmarked the proceeds from the funding round for further clinical testing and commercialization of its Valeda light delivery system for treating dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

LumiThera’s Valeda system is not FDA cleared, but the company is conducting prospective, randomized, double-masked clinical trials in dry AMD subjects. One of which is a European multi-center, post-marketing study, while the Lightsite III study in the U.S. is FDA-approved with investigational device exemption.

The company’s latest funding round for the Valeda system was led by WaterStar Capital, with Nikon also participating. In October 2018, LumiThera and Nikon (TYO:7731) subsidiary Optos inked a distribution deal for the Valeda system.

“We are pleased with the investor interest in the company and have raised over $10 million in the current C round,” LumiThera president & CEO Clark Tedford said in a news release. “The capital raised will allow us to execute on our European and U.S. multi-center clinical trials.”

“WaterStar is very excited at the progress of LumiThera in 2019 and looks forward to helping in the global commercialization of the PBM technology for ocular disease,” added WaterStar co-founder & managing partner Yigang Yang.

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