Berlin-based digital therapeutics company, Dopavision has announced the closing of a €12 million Series A financing round to develop its lead product for childhood myopia.

Seventure Partners led the round and was joined by Novartis Pharmaceuticals and the company's existing shareholders, Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund and Ababax Health.

WHY IT MATTERS

Myopia is the leading cause of correctable visual impairment, expected to reach 50% of the global population by 2050.

Symptoms of the condition include blurring of distant objects due to image focusing in front of the retina instead of falling on the retina, most often caused by excessive elongation of the eyeball during growth. Severe cases are associated with conditions such as glaucoma, cataract, retinal detachment, and myopic maculopathy.

Run on standard digital devices, MyopiaX is designed to achieve a medical effect while children play games or use educational digital content and can be integrated into their daily routine.

Through the product, Dopavision's aim is to halt disease progression by providing treatments and addressing the disease at an early stage, in order to prevent severe impairments later in life.

The technology leverages a patented, light-based technology that stimulates photosensitive cells of the retina, which in turn modulate retinal dopamine, a neurotransmitter involved in eye growth. The funding will go towards demonstrating the product's safety and efficacy in clinical studies and advance this treatment to market.

The funding will also go to additional product development activities in order to provide digital treatments for children, leveraging games, educational and cognitive training applications.

THE LARGER CONTEXT

In May, Johnson & Johnson announced an FDA clearance for its new contact lens technology developed to combat childhood myopia called Abiliti Overnight Therapeutic Lenses.  

ON THE RECORD

Dr Hamed Bahmani, co-founder and managing director of Dopavision, said: "We are excited that Seventure Partners and Novartis Pharmaceuticals have decided to support Dopavision as new investors in the Series A round.

"The extensive use of smartphones is suspected to worsen childhood myopia but stopping children from using them is unrealistic. Therefore, we have decided to transform the use of digital devices into a beneficial therapeutic activity. Our first-of-its-kind MyopiaX combines ease of use with an exciting user experience that promotes adherence to the therapy with the goal of addressing this serious medical condition already at a young age."

Jill Hopkins, global development head, ophthalmology, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, said: "Novartis is committed to advancing transformational treatments - including digital therapeutics - to people of all ages living with visual impairment."