NRF backs local ophthalmic biotech

A Melbourne-based biotechnology company has landed a game-changing investment to push forward its novel glaucoma implant to address the long-standing challenge of poor patient adherence with traditional eye drop therapy.

The $40 million raised by PolyActiva, with $27 million coming from Australia’s $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund (NRF) and the remainder from returning investor Brandon Capital, represents a major commitment to commercialising homegrown medical research. The funding will allow the biotech to advance its phase 2 trials while keeping its tech and manufacturing footprint firmly planted in Australia.

1 in 50 Australians will develop glaucoma in their lifetime. Glaucoma treatments today rely heavily on patient-administered eye drops, but adherence to this regimen is notoriously poor, with studies showing that 40-90% of patients stop using their drops correctly after just one year.

PolyActiva’s PA5108 ocular implant is a tiny polymer device – just two millimetres long and thinner than a human hair – designed to deliver glaucoma therapy directly into the eye over a six-month period. It’s a sophisticated drug delivery platform born from Australian research institutions, one that has succeeded where even global pharmaceutical heavyweights have stumbled in manufacturing.

The NRF’s inaugural biotechnology investment reflects growing federal confidence in Australia’s ability to take scientific innovations from bench to bedside, and as David Gall CEO of the NRF put it, “sits fairly and squarely in the [NRF] mandate.”

Founded a decade ago by scientist Russell Tait during his tenure at CSIRO, PolyActiva has since shepherded its implant through trials involving 45 Australian patients. It’s now preparing to launch a phase 2B clinical study with 73 participants.

After dispensing medication over 6 to 12 months, the implant biodegrades, eliminating the need for removal. A new device can then be injected to continue treatment, seamlessly extending care.

“Like many Australian biotechs, at some point, you have to do a deal. The alternative for us would have been a strategic partnership and potentially license or sell the business to big pharma. It means we don’t have to sell ourselves early, which happens time and time again,” said PolyActiva CEO Vanessa Waddell. “We want to do for sight what Cochlear did for hearing.”

Australia’s legacy in pioneering eye technology, from the invention of the world’s first bionic eye to the enduring impact of late eye surgeon Fred Hollows, has set a high bar. With this latest leap, PolyActiva may well be the next chapter in that story.

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