Lenz Therapeutics, a late-stage clinical company, announced it has raised $83.5 million in an oversubscribed Series B financing to further support its ongoing phase 3 trials of potential, first-in-class presbyopia therapies: LNZ100 (aceclidine) and LNZ101 (aceclidine and brimonidine).
Talk about this financing first.
The company received funding from new investors—Sectoral Asset Management (lead investor), Alpha Wave Ventures, and Point 72—as well as existing investors, including RA Capital Management, Versant Ventures, and RTW Investments.
Now these therapies.
LNZ100 (aceclidine 1.75%) is a small-molecule acetylcholine receptor agonist that causes miosis, which results in a “pinhole” effect to improve near vision and prevent a myopic shift.
Data from the phase 2 INSIGHT trial (NCT05294328) evaluating LNZ100 and LNZ101 (aceclidine 1.75% and brimonidine) reported positive topline results, with both therapies meeting the primary endpoints of a 3-line or greater improvement in visual acuity (VA) without losing 1-line or more in distance VA at 1 hour.
Each formulation also maintained an average pupil size of 1.5-2 mm for 10 hours, which was a biomarker of efficacy.
How about these trials?
The company launched its phase 3 CLARITY program in December 2022 as a sequence of three double-masked, randomized, US-based, multi-center, safety/efficacy trials for the treatment of presbyopia.
All three trials are being run in parallel to further evaluate the safety and efficacy of LNZ100 and LNZ101 as once-daily eye drops to correct vision loss.
What else?
Proceeds from the company’s latest financing are directly enabling Lenz to complete the development, registration, and—pending a potential FDA approval in the future—the commercial launch of LNZ100 and LNZ101 in the United States.
When can we expect results from these phase trials?
According to Clinical Trials, the studies are estimated to be completed on the following dates:
- NCT05656027 → December 2023
- NCT05753189 → January 2024
- NCT05728944 → April 2024