Bengaluru-based Eyestem has raised funding from Endiya partners, one of India’s leading VC Funds in Technology, Healthcare and Life-sciences.

This funding will allow Eyestem to move one step closer to scaling up its platform and creating affordable cell therapies which are essential in democratizing access to a large section of humanity.

This investment will enable Eyestem to reach their goal of becoming one of the first few companies in the world to develop a treatment for Dry Age-related Macular Degeneration (Dry AMD), the leading cause of incurable blindness affecting almost 170 million people – mostly above 50 years of age – across the globe.

Founded by a highly experienced management team consisting of ophthalmology, cell therapy and clinical trial experts, Eyestem has created a platform for allogeneic, scalable cell therapy. Eyecyte RPE, the company’s patented flagship product, is close to finding a treatment for Dry AMD and the company has two more products in the pipeline for similar incurable diseases affecting humanity. The company has received several prestigious awards and grants from the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India.

Indian investors are seeing a huge potential in this untapped market. “Healthcare, as we know it, is undergoing a transformation with new technologies providing treatment for diseases that have hitherto been deemed incurable. We are happy to be partnering with Dr Jogin Desai and the accomplished teams at Eyestem in their ambition to develop allogenic cell therapy products for such incurable diseases.We are particularly excited about the results we have seen in the product for treatment of Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD), a retinal degenerative disease” says Dr Ramesh Byrapeneni, Managing Director, Endiya Partners.