CIC participates in Gyroscope Therapeutics’s £50.4 million Series B funding

Financing will support continued clinical development of gene therapies and surgical delivery systems for retinal diseases

3 September 2019

Cambridge Innovation Capital plc (CIC), the venture capital investor enabling visionaries to build global, category-leading companies in the Cambridge ecosystem, has participated in the £50.4 million Series B funding of Gyroscope Therapeutics (Gyroscope), a company developing gene therapies and surgical delivery systems for retinal diseases, alongside lead investor Syncona Ltd.

With this new round of financing, Gyroscope will continue to advance:

• the clinical development of the company’s investigational gene therapy GT005 for dry age-related macular degeneration (dry-AMD), the leading cause of permanent vision impairment for people aged 65 and older^[1];
• the manufacturing platform to meet patient need worldwide; and
• a second-generation Orbit Subretinal Delivery System to not only deliver Gyroscope’s investigational therapies, but also be licensed to other gene and cell therapy companies developing medicines.

Robert Tansley, Partner at CIC, said: “Gyroscope has unique capabilities to bring novel treatments to areas of significant unmet medical need. We are delighted to support the company as it progresses clinical trials with its lead programme GT005 and its Orbit Subretinal Delivery System, while also expanding its pipeline of innovative medicines.”

Khurem Farooq, CEO of Gyroscope, added: “We are grateful for the confidence Syncona and CIC have shown in Gyroscope as we continue to deliver on our promise to bring gene therapy beyond rare disease to help the millions of people worldwide with dry-AMD.”

About Cambridge Innovation Capital plc

Cambridge Innovation Capital (CIC) is a venture capital investor focused on intellectual property rich technology and life science businesses in the Cambridge ecosystem. CIC is committed to building leading businesses from brilliant technologies. It combines a unique relationship with the University of Cambridge with deep financial and industry links to support these businesses as they seek to fulfil their potential to change the world of tomorrow.

For more information please visit www.cicplc.co.uk or follow us on Twitter at @CIC_vc

About Gyroscope: Vision for Life

Gyroscope Therapeutics is developing gene therapy beyond rare disease and using it to treat a leading cause of blindness, dry age-related macular degeneration (dry-AMD). Dry-AMD is the leading cause of permanent vision impairment for people aged 65 and older and there are no approved treatments.

Research suggests that when a part of the immune system, the complement system, is overactive it leads to inflammation that damages healthy eye tissues.

Gyroscope’s lead investigational therapy, GT005, is designed to restore balance to the complement system. The goal is to slow, or possibly stop the progression of dry-AMD. Patients in the company’s ongoing Phase I/II clinical trial, known as the FOCUS study, receive a single dose of the therapy through an injection below their retina.

Gyroscope is also developing surgical devices and procedures designed to safely, precisely and consistently deliver one-time therapies into the eye. The Orbit Subretinal Delivery System (Orbit SDS) is designed to allow surgeons to access an area of the eye called the “subretinal space” without needing to remove the vitreous (the gel-like substance that fills the eye) or make a hole in the retina. This is important as it may increase the likelihood of treatment success by delivering therapies to critical target tissues while keeping the vitreous and retina intact.

Headquartered in London, UK, with a U.S. headquarters near Philadelphia, PA, Gyroscope is building a pipeline of medicines, surgical procedures and delivery devices to preserve sight and fight the devastating impact of blindness. For more information go to:www.gyroscopetx.com

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[1] Prevent Blindness, https://www.preventblindness.org/dry-amd