Two ATDC seed funded bioscience companies complete private financings in 2009 and are honored by GABio Industry Association. Iconic Therapeutics and Visioneering Technologies, both ATDC Seed Funded companies, will be presented with a Deal of the Year award. The GaBio Deal of the Year awards recognize life science companies that have completed a significant development milestone, such as raising investment funds, entering into a partnering agreement or securing a government grant or contract.
Iconic Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing a drug to treat wet macular degeneration, raised $3.5 million from New Haven, Conn-based Elm Street Ventures. The company has raised $13.8 million since it’s inception in 2003, mostly from angel investors. Iconic, whose technology is based on novel immunoconjugate proteins called “I-cons”, plans to conduct a Phase I trail to show that the compound is safe in humans. The technology was licensed from Yale University.
Visioneering Technologies, an Atlanta based start-up developing technology for correcting presbyopia through contact lenses and other “on eye and in eye” applications, raised $5 million from MB Ventures of Memphis, Tenn., Charter Life Sciences and Life Science Angels, both of Palo Alto, Calif., and from the State of Georgia ATDC Seed Capital Fund. Visioneering’s approach to vision correction utilizes induced aperture optics to improve the optical efficiency of the eye’s vision system. The technology has a number of on eye and in eye applications including contact lenses, LASIK, intraocular lenses and corneal inlays.
The Georgia Bio Annual Awards Dinner will be held Thursday, January 21st, 2010, at The Retreat of Dunwoody. This event recognizes Industry and Community leaders who have made a significant contribution to the Georgia Life Science community. Please see the GABio web site for more details on the Annual Awards Dinner (www.gabio.org).