Innovation Kyoto 2021 Investment Limited Partnership ("KYOTO-iCAP No.2 Fund"), whose general partner is Kyoto University Innovation Capital Corporation ("Kyoto-iCAP") (Head Office: Sakyo-ku, Kyoto; Representative Director: Ko Kusumi), has recently made an additional investment in Restore Vision Inc. KYOTO-iCAP No. 2 Fund has made an additional investment in Restore Vision, Inc.

 　The gene therapy drug that Restore Vision is working to commercialize is indicated for the treatment of retinitis pigmentosa. Retinitis pigmentosa is the second leading cause of blindness in Japan, and millions of people worldwide suffer from this intractable disease. There is no fundamental cure for the disease at this time, and many patients eventually go blind.

　RV-001, Restore Vision's lead pipeline product, is a gene therapy that carries the light-sensing protein chimerarhodopsin as a therapeutic gene in an adeno-associated viral vector "AAV". In retinitis pigmentosa, photoreceptor cells and retinal pigment epithelial cells are degenerated and lost, but intravitreal injection of RV-001 allows chimerarhodopsin to be expressed in the remaining interneurons, thereby enabling visual regeneration.

　Domestic research on rhodopsin has a long history of being conducted mainly in the Department of Biophysics, Faculty of Science, Kyoto University. Restoration Vision is a startup established based on the results of a joint research project between Keio University School of Medicine and Nagoya Institute of Technology. The project's lead researcher, Professor Hideki Kandori of Nagoya Institute of Technology, is from the Department of Biophysics, Faculty of Science, Kyoto University. The development candidate, which is Restoration Vision's second pipeline product, was created through collaborative research between the company and Professor Takahiro Yamashita of the Faculty of Science at Kyoto University.

　Kyoto-iCAP believes that the gene therapy drug being developed by Restore Vision has the potential to save patients with retinitis pigmentosa from the threat of blindness. Since Kyoto University's research results have contributed greatly to the creation of the gene therapy drug, Kyoto iCAP decided to invest 100 million yen in the Series A round, of which 50 million yen was invested in December 2023. The remaining 50 million yen was invested in December 2023, after confirming that the previously agreed milestone had been achieved.

Outline of Restore Vision, Inc.
Established November 14, 2016
Business Description Research and development of gene therapeutic drugs in the field of ophthalmology
Head office location Minato-ku, Tokyo
Representative Director Yusaku Katada
HP:https://restore-vis.com/

 

About Kyoto University Innovation Capital Corporation (Kyoto iCAP)
　As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kyoto University, KYOTO-iCAP provides investment and other business support to companies that utilize research results generated by Kyoto University and other national universities. We currently operate the Innovation Kyoto 2016 Investment Limited Partnership ("KYOTO-iCAP 1 Fund") (established in January 2016) with a total value of 16 billion yen and the KYOTO-iCAP 2 Fund (established in January 2021) with a total value of 18.1 billion yen. The KYOTO-iCAP No. 1 Fund has a maturity of up to 20 years, and the KYOTO-iCAP No. 2 Fund has a maturity of up to 17 years, making it possible to provide long-term support for the practical application of research results from Kyoto University, which has strengths in basic research. The KYOTO-iCAP 2 Fund has a maximum maturity of 17 years. In addition, KYOTO-iCAP No. 2 Fund will invest a portion of the funds in ventures originating from national universities other than Kyoto University.

Contact information for inquiries
Kyoto University Innovation Capital Co., Ltd.
36-1 Yoshida Honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8317, Japan
Osami Kono, Senior Officer, Business Development Department
E-mail: info@kyoto-unicap.co.jp