September 8, 2022
New Horizons Forum unites key clinical, industry, financial, and FDA leaders in a unique exchange on research innovation and advances in glaucoma treatment. Each year, nationally and internationally respected pioneers in the fields of vision, business, and medical innovation come together to share insights, spark new ideas, and accelerate progress in glaucoma science, diagnostics, and therapies. Following are selected updates — success stories from innovative startup companies who have presented at New Horizons Forum over the years.
Iantrek Inc, whose tagline is “MIGS without the hardware,” presented at New Horizons Forum in February 2022. Last week they announced that Iantrek has raised $23 million in Series B Financing to advance their next generation ophthalmic micro-interventional technologies. Iantrek is a medical device company founded by ophthalmic innovator Dr. Sean Ianchulev, an entrepreneur also known for his work with Eyenovia, Transcend Medical, Genentech, and ianTECH.
PolyActiva, a clinical-stage Australian biopharmaceutical company (Russell Tait, BPharm, PhD, MBA, Chief Executive Officer) participated in the New Horizons in Drugs and Drug Delivery session in February 2022. Later that same month, they announced that their glaucoma implant had cleared an early clinical test. With the study linking the lowest dose of the biodegradable implant to improved outcomes, PolyActiva is currently moving further into clinical testing.
iSTAR Medical (Michel van Brabant, CEO) presented at the New Horizons in Glaucoma Devices session in 2014 and 2015. In July 2022, AbbVie agreed to pay $60 million for the rights to acquire iSTAR Medical’s implantable glaucoma device. The companies struck a deal to develop and commercialize the MINIject device, a small, porous implant that is designed to reduce intraocular pressure. The device is currently CE-marked and iSTAR began selling it in some European countries earlier this year.
Sanoculis (Nir Israeli, Chief Executive Officer) presented at the New Horizons in Devices session in 2016 and 2020. In July 2022, Bausch + Lomb Corp. and Sanoculis (based in Israel) announced they had entered into strategic agreements designed to address unmet needs in glaucoma with a minimally invasive surgical procedure. Additionally, the companies entered into an option agreement, giving Bausch + Lomb the option to purchase all of Sanoculis’ assets.
Injectsense President/CEO and Co-Founder Ariel Cao presented their proprietary sensor-enabled digital health platform at the 2021 New Horizons “Global Innovations” session. In March 2022, Injectsense was awarded a two-year small business innovation research (SBIR) grant of $1.7 million by the National Eye Institute. The grant has made possible further bench testing at the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute this year. The Injectsense eye implant is smaller than a grain of rice.
Watch the 2021 Injectsense video presentation from New Horizons Forum:
