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Ophthalmic startup receives $1.5 million in financing to develop topical AMD drug

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ROANOKE, Va. — OcuCure Therapeutics Inc. has received $1.5 million in seed financing to continue development of its eye drop therapy for prophylaxis of exudative and non-exudative age-related macular degeneration, the company announced in a press release.

OcuCure was founded in August 2005 with research support by the Carilion Biomedical Institute. The company's therapeutic compounds, called tubulin inhibitors, prevent angiogenesis and directly eliminate newly formed blood vessels, according to the release. The dual mechanism may better address blood vessel growth than vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitors, company officials noted in the release.

Animal studies have shown that the formulation is safe and that it penetrates to the retina. Other studies have shown the drug's ability to penetrate the human cornea, according to the release.