Brandon Capital, Labor's NRF invest $40m into glaucoma biotech PolyActiva
PolyActiva is taking its high-precision glaucoma implant to global trials in a test for Australia’s biotech ambitions.
A Melbourne-based biotechnology company has secured $40 million in Series C funding to advance a potentially revolutionary treatment for glaucoma that could eliminate the need for daily eye drops for millions of patients worldwide.
The investment in PolyActiva — including $27 million from Australia’s National Reconstruction Fund Corporation (NRFC), alongside existing investor Brandon Capital — represents a significant bet on the country’s ability to commercialise homegrown medical research. This has long been a challenge for Australian innovators, who often see their discoveries developed and profited from overseas.
PolyActiva’s approach involves a tiny polymer implant — just two millimetres long and thinner than a human hair — that delivers glaucoma medication directly into the eye over six months. The solution, developed through Australian research institutions, required the company to overcome manufacturing challenges that have eluded pharmaceutical giants globally.
“There are currently more than 80 million people worldwide suffering from glaucoma, and this number is expected to increase to over 111 million people by 2040,” said David Gall, chief executive of the NRFC. The fund’s first investment in biotechnology signals growing government confidence in Australia’s capacity to translate early-stage research into commercial success and "sits fairly and squarely in the [NRF] mandate," Gall said.
