Beacon Therapeutics Secures $170M in Series B for Eye Gene Therapies

Beacon Therapeutics Holdings Limited, a prominent gene therapy firm dedicated to treating blinding retinal diseases, announced a successful Series B funding round, garnering $170 million. Forbion, a life sciences venture capital firm, spearheaded this financing effort, joined by existing investors Syncona Limited, Oxford Science Enterprises, and the University of Oxford. New investors TCGX and Advent Life Sciences also participated.

The newly acquired funds will propel the clinical development of Beacon's flagship asset, AGTC-501, designed for X-Linked Retinitis Pigmentosa (XLRP), and advance the company's Dry Age-related Macular Degeneration (dAMD) program through Phase 1/2 clinical trials.

In conjunction with this funding milestone, Beacon Therapeutics expanded its Board of Directors, appointing Dmitrij Hristodorov and Wouter Joustra, both General Partners at Forbion, and Cariad Chester, Managing Partner at TCGX. Dominic Schmidt, General Partner at Advent Life Sciences, has been named as a Board Observer.

Beacon's mission encompasses addressing both rare and common retinal diseases. XLRP, a rare blinding disease with no current treatment, and dAMD, are focal points of the company's research. AGTC-501, their leading therapeutic candidate, is undergoing a registrational clinical trial for XLRP. This therapy delivers the full-length RPGR protein to tackle the photoreceptor damage associated with XLRP, targeting both rod and cone cell degeneration.

David Fellows, CEO of Beacon Therapeutics, expressed confidence in the impact of the new funding and board appointments. He highlighted the company's dedication to advancing gene therapies aimed at saving and restoring vision in patients with various retinal diseases. Fellows believes the new resources will accelerate the progress of AGTC-501 towards clinical and commercial milestones.

Dmitrij Hristodorov from Forbion echoed this sentiment, emphasizing their support for Beacon's innovative pipeline of ophthalmic gene therapies. He praised the company's expertise and leadership, affirming Forbion's confidence in Beacon's potential to become a leading entity in retinal gene therapy.

Elisa Petris, Lead Partner at Syncona Investment Management Limited and Beacon's Board Director, noted that Syncona's continued investment underscores their faith in Beacon's leadership and innovative approach to retinal gene therapies. She believes the new funding and strategic partnerships will significantly advance Beacon's programs for both rare and widespread ophthalmic conditions.

To date, Beacon Therapeutics has amassed approximately $290 million in funding. This latest financing round follows significant clinical achievements, such as the first patient dose in the VISTA registrational trial for AGTC-501, the start of the Phase II DAWN trial, and the positive interim results from the Phase 2 SKYLINE trial presented at the 47th Annual Macula Society Meeting.

J.P. Morgan served as the sole placement agent for Beacon Therapeutics in this transaction.

Beacon Therapeutics, established in 2023, strives to address blindness caused by both common and rare retinal diseases through gene therapy. The company is leveraging a strong scientific foundation with a late-stage candidate for XLRP and preclinical programs targeting dry AMD and cone-rod dystrophy (CRD), an inherited retinal condition. AGTC-501, their lead candidate, aims to remedy the vision loss caused by XLRP by expressing the full-length RPGR protein, crucial for photoreceptor function.

Beacon also possesses a target generation technology platform designed to identify and screen secreted proteins relevant to ophthalmology.