Novartis has acquired Vedere Bio, a startup focused on optogenetic therapies that are delivered to the retina intravitreally to restore functional vision, for a total of $280 million.
Vedere's photoreceptor-protein-based optogenetics technology is expected to expand the potential for gene therapy to improve the lives of patients facing vision loss due to photoreceptor death attributable to a number of prevalent eye diseases.
Vedere Bio was formed in the Atlas Venture incubator in June 2019. The company was launched with a $21 million Series A financing and began lab operations at LabCentral in Cambridge, MA where it advanced its lead programs from concept to development candidate within one year.
Right before the Novartis acquisition, Vedere established "Vedere Bio II" to advance its earlier stage assets not involved in the buyout.
Read the press release