Ocutec raises funding for hydrogel contact lens

Funding

Ocutec Ltd has raised a further tranche of equity finance, bringing the amount the company has raised since its formation in January 2007 to £2 million. The (undisclosed) sum came from ChimaeraBio, a fund headed by Scottish technology entrepreneurs Jim and Karen Reid, with matched funding from the Scottish Enterprise Co-Investment Fund.

This investment will allow Ocutec to further develop its novel contact lens technology and complete the final stages of product development. Wade Tipton, Managing Director, said, “This further supports our mission to revolutionise the contact lens industry with our proprietary materials.” Over the coming months the company expects to obtain approval for on-eye testing that will allow it to demonstrate the attributes of its technology.

Ocutec has invented novel advanced materials and manufacturing technologies based on polyethylene glycol, a polymer that is widely used in medical devices, food packaging, skin care products and injections. The company says its application of the polymer in contact lenses will lead to significant reductions in manufacturing costs and make the lenses more comfortable to wear.

While contact lenses are the initial focus, the company is exploring a number of other applications for its thermoplastic hydrogel polymer, including use in other ophthalmic, urinary and coronary-based medical devices.