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Syncona Ltd on Monday said it launched Beacon Therapeutics Holdings Ltd, a new ophthalmic therapy company, to treat patients with retinal diseases. The London-based investor in healthcare companies said it has combined the recently acquired Applied Genetic Technologies Corp’s late-stage programme in X-linked retinitis pigmentosa with two other unnamed pre-clinical programmes to create Beacon. Syncona said it has committed £75 million to Beacon and will own a 65% stake in the business, with a current holding value of £60 million. The total value of the Series A financing is £96 million, which was led by Syncona, alongside Oxford Science Enterprises and other investors. The Series A financing will advance Beacon’s gene therapy candidates through to key value inflection points. This includes Beacon’s lead programme, AGTC-501, which is currently in phase two of clinical trials for the treatment of XLRP, an inherited disorder which leads to vision loss in males. This comes after Syncona announced in October that it would expand its retinal gene therapy pipeline through the acquisition of AGTC, a Florida-based biotechnology company, for $23.5 million. The acquisition was completed on December 1. Syncona added that David Fellows, the chair of Oxular, will serve as Beacon’s chief executive officer, while Syncona Investment Management Ltd’s CEO, Chris Hollowood, has been appointed as chair of Beacon. Chris Hollowood said: ‘We have created an exciting new gene therapy company in an area where we have a great breadth and depth of knowledge and expertise. The creation of this unique company demonstrates Syncona’s creativity and the proactive and proprietary nature of our approach to sourcing new opportunities. ‘We have the opportunity to leverage our expertise, track record and network to support Beacon Therapeutics as it develops gene therapies for people suffering from debilitating inherited retinal diseases.’ Shares in Syncona were down 0.7% at 153.28 pence each in London on Monday morning. Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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