Beacon Therapeutics announces new board members, funding to support XLRP and AMD programmes

News
Article

The company has secured $170 million (approximately €157 million) in Series B funding

A scientist in a laboratory puts samples into a petri dish. Image credit: ©RFBSIP – stock.adobe.com

The company’s lead asset, AGTC-501 (laruparetigene zovaparvovec), is a therapeutic for x-linked retinitis pigmentosa. Image credit: ©RFBSIP – stock.adobe.com

Beacon Therapeutics has secured €157 million (approximately $170 million, or £133 million) in Series B funding, the company announced in a press release.1

The funding was led by Forbion, a venture capital firm based in the Netherlands, and included existing investors Syncona Limited, Oxford Science Enterprises and the University of Oxford. Initial investments from TCGX and Advent Life Sciences were also made.

Beacon stated that the funding will go toward the continued clinical development of the company’s lead asset, AGTC-501 (laruparetigene zovaparvovec) for X-Linked Retinitis Pigmentosa (XLRP). The funding will also be used to generate Phase 1/2 clinical trial data for the company’s dry age-related macular degeneration (dAMD) programme.1

On top of the funding, Beacon Therapeutics also announced it has appointed Dmitrij Hristodorov and Wouter Joustra, general partners of Forbion, and Cariad Chester, managing partner of TCGX, to its board of directors.

David Fellows, CEO of Beacon Therapeutics, commented on the funding and plans moving forward in a press release from the company.

"We are focused on progressing our pipeline of ophthalmic gene therapies to save and restore the vision of patients with a range of prevalent and rare retinal diseases that result in blindness. I am confident that along with the addition of Dmitrij Hristodorov, Wouter Joustra and Cariad Chester to the Beacon Board, these funds will support the ongoing development of our late-stage and pre-clinical pipeline and enable acceleration of the development of AGTC-501 as we progress through the clinic and toward commercialisation,” said Fellows.

Including the €157 million raised in the Series B funding, the company has raised approximately €268 million to date. The company recently completed the first dosing in its VISTA clinical trial (NCT04850118) of AGTC-501.

References:
  1. Beacon Therapeutics Raises $170 Million in Series B Funding to Advance Development of Ophthalmic Gene Therapies. Press Release; July 3, 2024. Accessed July 8, 2024. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/beacon-therapeutics-raises-170-million-in-series-b-funding-to-advance-development-of-ophthalmic-gene-therapies-302188599.html

Newsletter

Join ophthalmologists across Europe—sign up for exclusive updates and innovations in surgical techniques and clinical care.

Recent Videos
Alfredo Sadun, MD, PhD, chief of Ophthalmology at the Doheny Eye Institute, University of California Los Angeles, shared exciting new research with the Eye Care Network during the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) meeting on the subject of Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON).
At this year's Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah, Nitish Mehta, MD, shared highlights from his research documenting real-world results of aflibercept 8 mg for patients with diabetic macular oedema.
ARVO 2025: Anat Loewenstein, MD, shares data from herself and her colleagues on meeting needs of patients with diabetic retinopathy
At the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons annual meeting, Sheng Lim, MD, FRCOphth discusses the benefit of endoscopic cyclophotocoagulation for patients with primary open angle glaucoma and cataracts in the CONCEPT study
A photo of Seville, Spain, with the Congress on Controversies in Ophthalmology logo superimposed on it. Image credit: ©francovolpato – stock.adobe.com; logo courtesy COPHy
Anat Loewenstein, MD, Professor and Director, Department of Ophthalmology, Tel Aviv Medical Center, discusses the Congress on Controversies in Ophthalmology (COPHy)
Anat Loewenstein, MD, speaks about the 22nd Annual Angiogenesis, Exudation, and Degeneration Meeting in February 2025 and shares her global forecast for AI-driven home OCT
Sarah M. Thomasy, DVM, PhD, DACVO, a veterinary ophthalmologist at UC Davis, talks about how her research at the Glaucoma 360 symposium
I. Paul Singh, MD, an anterior segment and glaucoma specialist, discusses the Glaucoma 360 conference, where he participated in a panel discussion on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in glaucoma care.
Charles Wykoff, MD, PhD, discusses his Floretina ICOOR presentation topic, retinal non-perfusion in diabetic retinopathy, with David Hutton, editor of Ophthalmology Times
© 2025 MJH Life Sciences

All rights reserved.