Envisia Therapeutics, a new biotechnology company formed by privately-held Liquidia Technologies, has launched,  backed by $25 million in Series A financing. Envisia will focus on addressing unmet medical needs in various areas of ophthalmology. Envisia’s lead product, ENV515, is an extended-release formulation of a prostaglandin analogue providing glaucoma patients a sustained reduction in intraocular pressure (IOP) over many months after single administration.

“Non-compliance continues to be a significant problem when treating patients with glaucoma. It can lead to disease progression and ultimately blindness,” said Ike Ahmed, M.D., a glaucoma specialist from the University of Toronto. “With ENV515, Envisia brings a potentially revolutionary approach to advancing glaucoma pharmacotherapy.”

In addition to ENV515, Envisia is using its proprietary PRINT(Particle Replication In Non-Wetting Templates) technology platform to create a pipeline of small and large molecule particle-based ocular therapeutics.

“Envisia and the PRINT platform have the potential to reinvent approaches to ocular therapies, radically increase product performance and, ultimately, improve patient outcomes,” said Ben Yerxa, Ph.D., chief scientific officer of Envisia.

“The success of multiple programs using the PRINT platform over the last several years has led to a wide range of opportunities in multiple therapeutic areas,” said Neal Fowler, CEO of Envisia. “With the formation and financing of Envisia, now we have the ability for both companies to optimally focus on their respective therapeutic areas—ophthalmology for Envisia, and vaccines and inhaled therapeutics for Liquidia.”