Louisville, KY—Potentia Pharmaceuticals Inc., a development stage biotech company with a Phase I product initially aimed at age-related macular degeneration, has raised $12 million led by HealthCare Ventures and MASA Life Science Ventures.

The company says the funds will be used to advance its investigational drug candidate POT-4 from Phase I into Phase II clinical trials. POT-4 is a peptide that specifically inhibits complement activation and is initially being developed for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration.

“Millions of patients are eager for an effective treatment for dry AMD. Complement inhibition, using therapies such as POT-4, is the most promising approach being developed for these people,” said Cedric Francois, co-founder and CEO of Potentia Pharmaceuticals.

Douglas E. Onsi of HealthCare Ventures commented, “We were very impressed by Potentia’s experienced management team and the company’s unique approach to the treatment of AMD. HealthCare Ventures invests in companies, like Potentia, that open new avenues of research and develop novel products that will change the practice of medicine.” Onsi will join Potentia’s board.

AMD is the leading cause of blindness in the elderly of the western world. An estimated 10 million patients in the USA are affected with the disease, of which approximately 3 million are afflicted with an advanced form of the disease, moreover this number is expected to double over the next ten to fifteen years.

It represents a multi-billion dollar market for which only limited treatment options are available.

On the Web: www.potentiapharma.com

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