EBS aims to take cataract treatment from the operating theatre to the high street as company signs licensing deal in China
– Licensing and equity investment deal with China’s Haoguang Bio-tech, a wholly owned subsidiary of Boye Biotech
– EBS has raised around £3m to date and is about to embark on a £5m series A round
– Over 20 million cataract operations took place worldwide in 2020, with technology being developed by EBS making treatment delivery up to 90 per cent quicker, with a significant reduction in cost per pa-tient and deliverable in a high street clinical setting
– EBS’s LEDINBIO device deploys low intensity LED light for diagnosis, monitoring and treatment
– EBS is targeting Europe, UK and China markets in its first phase of commercialisation
– EBS planning expansion into North American and South Asian mar-kets during next phase of growth
Edinburgh, 1 July 2021 – Edinburgh Biosciences (EBS) has signed a major interna-tional licensing and equity investment deal in China, as the company aims to take cataract treatment from the operating theatre to the high street. The licensing deal is with China’s Haoguang, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Boye Biotech.
EBS has raised around £3 million to date and is about to embark on a £5 million series A round, as the Edinburgh-headquartered eyecare technology specialist looks to radically improve and shorten the pathway of care for cataract patients.
Over 20 million cataract operations took place worldwide in 2020, and the tech-nology being developed by the EBS team via its LEDINBIO device provides an alternative to surgery by non-invasive treatment and a significant reduction in cost per patient. Underpinned by years of research and development and having reached a series of clinical trial milestones, EBS’s technology deploys LED tech-nology for diagnosis, monitoring and treatment and is on course to make cataract treatment delivery up to 90 per cent quicker at significantly lower cost by taking cataract treatment from operating theatres to a high street clinical setting – while helping to alleviate global hospital waiting lists that have been exacerbated dur-ing the Covid-19 pandemic.
EBS is targeting the European, UK and China markets in its first phase of com-mercialisation, and plans to sell its technology to clinical optometry and oph-thalmology providers, and other eye and healthcare industry players.
EBS’s CEO Graham Bell previously led corporate development, and mergers and acquisitions at NASDAQ-listed University of Dundee spin-out Cyclacel Pharma-ceuticals, while Chairman David Quigley, a qualified optometrist and joint venture partner with Specsavers Opticians in Scotland, also chairs Optometry Scotland tasked with representing the community eyecare sector to the Scottish Govern-ment. EBS was founded by Professor Des Smith, a leading Scottish bioscience entrepreneur, who remains on the board.
Edinburgh Biosciences CEO Graham Bell said: “EBS is positioned to revolution-ise cataract treatment, first in the European, UK and China markets, and then worldwide. The technology we have developed will change the pathway of care for cataract patients, meaning treatment can be administered in a local setting ra-ther than in an operating theatre. When you factor in hospital waiting lists that have only been exacerbated by Covid, the timing is opportune for a drastic change to the status quo where surgery is the sole solution for a cataract.”
Pointing to estimates of the untreated cataract market, including developing countries, at over 65 million people and equating to around $7 billion in market value, EBS plans to target a global rollout in its next phase of growth.
Edinburgh Biosciences Chairman David Quigley added: “As an industry, we’ve been seeking a more effective solution for tackling the cataract challenge and the impact it has on patients and hospital waiting times. The team has proven, most recently through successful clinical trials, that the technology will be a game-changer, deliverable conveniently, safely and efficiently in a non-surgical setting. While focusing on the European, UK and China markets over the initial phase, we envisage even greater market opportunities worldwide going forward.”
EBS is in active discussions with a number of UK and international regulatory bodies, has a number of patents in place or pending, and expects to double headcount this year.
The series A investment round process is being managed by Manchester-based advisory firm, Oyster Venture Partners, which specialises in supporting the life science, healthcare and healthtech sectors.
View the article as it was published on Daily Business Group.
