LensGen, Inc., an ophthalmic medical device company and developer of Juvene®, a disruptive fluid-optic intraocular lens for cataract and presbyopia treatment, announces the initial Closing of a $10 million of the $20 million Bridge Financing.
IRVINE, Calif., Aug. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- LensGen, Inc., an ophthalmic medical device company and developer of Juvene®, a disruptive fluid-optic intraocular lens (IOL) for cataract and presbyopia treatment, announces the initial Closing of a $10 million of the $20 million Bridge Financing. The company is also pleased to announce the election of James (Jim) Mazzo to its Board of Directors.
The financing was led by the corporate venture investment arm of HOYA Group and is part of a larger Series B Financing planned in early 2021 that will fund the company through approval of Juvene IOL pivotal FDA study. “We are pleased that LensGen continues to make excellent progress towards advancing their IDE approval process and position the company for initiation of Phase I FDA study,” said Akiteru Furukawa, General Manager, Hoya Corporate Venture Capital Group.
With over 40 years of experience building and advancing world-class ophthalmic organizations, Jim Mazzo joins the LensGen Board of Directors as one of the industry’s best-known, most respected and charismatic leaders. He serves on the ASCRS Governing Board, the AAO Foundation Advisory Board, and is an Executive Committee Member of the Medical Device Manufacturers Association (MDMA) and is founder and Chairman of Octane.
“LensGen has a unique platform technology that I believe represents the future of cataract and lens replacement surgery,” said Mazzo. “I am looking forward to working with this innovative and dedicated team of professionals and leading surgeons around the world to bring better lens implant treatment options to patients.”
“We are delighted to attract additional investment from an experienced ophthalmology and corporate strategic investor like HOYA in order to advance into the pivotal stage of our FDA clinical study and bring to market an innovative and elegant solution for treating cataracts and presbyopia,” said Ramgopal Rao, CEO and Founder of LensGen.
“We are proud to invite an eminent industry leader of Jim Mazzo’s caliber to our board,” said Ramgopal Rao. “Jim’s knowledge of the ophthalmic community and commitment to excellence fits ideally with our culture and passion for true innovation and collaborating with eye care professional to provide them with the best solutions for their patients.”
About Cataracts
A cataract is the clouding of the natural lens which inhibits light from passing into the eye and makes it more difficult to see. Cataracts are the most common age-related eye condition and are treated by removing the eye’s cloudy natural lens and surgically replacing it with an intraocular lens or IOL. More than 98% of cataract surgeries are considered successful, and patients typically can return to their normal routines within 24 hours.
About Presbyopia
Presbyopia is a common, age-related vision condition in which people have difficulty focusing on things up close. It involves the gradual loss of the eye’s ability to focus on close objects, such as smart phones, computers, book and menus. Almost everyone will experience presbyopia to some degree and it generally becomes in our early to mid-40s and continues to progress and worsen with age.
About LensGen
LensGen is a clinical stage ophthalmic medical device company headquartered in Irvine, California focused on restoring youthful vision to millions of cataract and presbyopia patients. With its innovative Juvene® fluid-optic intraocular lens the company aims to treat vision correction errors and provide spectacle independence to patients affected by cataracts and/or presbyopia. For more information, please visit http://www.lensgen.com.
About HOYA
Founded in 1941 in Tokyo, Japan, HOYA Corporation is a global technology and med-tech company and a leading supplier of innovative high-tech and medical products. HOYA’s divisions and business units research and develop products utilized in the healthcare and information technology fields. In the healthcare field, we provide medical device products such as eyeglasses, medical endoscopes, contact and intraocular lenses, orthopedic implants, surgical/therapeutic devices and medical device reprocessing and disinfection solutions. In the information technology field, we provide products such as optical lenses, photomasks and blanks used in the manufacturing process for semiconductor and LCD/OLED devices, text to speech, human resources and other software solutions and critical components for the mass memory and cloud storage industries. With over 150 offices and subsidiaries worldwide, HOYA currently employs a multinational workforce of 37,000 people. For more information, please visit http://www.hoya.com.
Juvene® Intraocular Lens is not approved by the FDA and it is not available for sale or use in the United States.
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