PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SparingVision, a biotechnology company specializing in the research and development of innovative therapies for treating hereditary retinal degenerative diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa, announced today that it had been nominated among 3 start-ups for the Galien MedStart'Up 2019 Award in the category "Best collaboration dedicated to the developing or underserved populations worldwide ". The winners of the Prix Galien Medstart'Up 2019 will be announced during a ceremony scheduled for this purpose on Thursday 24 October 2019 at 12:00 at the Alexandria Life Sciences Center, New York.
Organized by the Fondation Galien and Business France, the Prix Galien MedStart'Up rewards the most promising start-ups in the healthcare sector, created by international partnerships between French and North American innovators. Since 2016, the Foundation Fighting Blindness has been a SparingVision partner and has contributed alongside Bpifrance and the Voir & Entendre Foundation to its first round of funding of €15.5 million.
The Fighting Blindness Foundation, created in 1971, is one of the largest foundations in the United States for degenerative retinal diseases. The FFB supports patients, research and innovation for new treatments and has literally changed the diagnosis of retinal degenerative disease from one of no hope to one that includes real promise for saving and restoring vision.
SparingVision has been selected for its treatment that fights against the most common retinitis pigmentosa of hereditary retinal degeneration. To date, no treatment exists to treat all forms of this rare genetic retinal disease that leads to blindness and affects about 40,000 people in France and nearly 2 million worldwide.
"We are very honored to be one of the 3 start-ups nominated for this prestigious award, which every year brings together the best in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries in New York. This appointment illustrates SparingVision's ambition and willingness to address a health need that has not been met to provide innovative SPVN06 treatment independent of genetic mutations to patients suffering from retinitis pigmentosa. We are planning to launch the first clinical trials in Europe and the United States in 2020," explains Florence Allouche, President of SparingVision, "Foundation Fighting Blindness supports SparingVision by organizing annual U.S. meetings dedicated to retinal degeneration (including the Investing in Cures Summit and Retinal Cell and Gene Therapy Innovation Summit), and supports the development of our product at every stage through its KOL network and its privileged relationship with patient groups”.
About SparingVision
SparingVision is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of innovative therapies for the treatment of blinding inherited retinal diseases. SparingVision is developing SPVN06, a gene-independent drug candidate to treat retinitis pigmentosa, the most common inherited retinal degeneration. There is currently no treatment to treat all genetic forms of this rare retinal disease that leads to blindness and affects 40,000 people in France and nearly 2 million worldwide. SparingVision is a spin-off of the Paris Vision Institute. Bpifrance, Foundation Fighting Blindness (US) and Voir & Entendre Foundation invested €15.5 million in the company. SparingVision was laureate and Grand Prize of i-Lab 2017, the National Contest for the Creation of Innovative Companies, and is part of the first selection of companies of Hub Heath Tech launched by Bpifrance.
SparingVision recently received an award from the EIC Accelerator program (H2020 SME instrument Phase 2), securing non-dilutive funding of €2.5 million. SparingVision is one of only 4 French companies that have been granted this award.
Florence Allouche, President of SparingVision, has won the Mercures Entrepreneurs Prize and the Women Trajectory’s award from HEC Paris and was elected "Woman of the Year 2017” by the financial magazine La Tribune.
