Medtronic invests in iScience Interventional

Minneapolis and Menlo Park, CA-Medical technology company Medtronic Inc. has invested in iScience Interventional to support iScience’s efforts to develop and commercialize drug-delivery technologies for the eye.

iScience develops microcatheter and imaging technologies designed to enable ophthalmologists to deliver site-specific ocular therapies to reduce IOP in patients with moderate to advanced glaucoma and, in clinical trials, to deliver pharmaceutical and biologic therapies to the suprachoroidal and subretinal spaces to treat retinal diseases.

The company “has the potential to change how we address a wide range of ocular diseases,” said Steve Oesterle, MD, senior vice president for medicine and technology at Medtronic. “The ability to deliver drugs, biologics, devices, and cell therapies directly to the site of the diseases may redefine how we manage several of the most significant sight-threatening conditions of the eye.”

“This is a time of intense change in ophthalmology, and Medtronic’s understanding of catheters and interventional treatments is an excellent fit with our product portfolio and clinical development activities,” said Michael F. Nash, president and chief executive officer of iScience. “This [investment] will allow us to accelerate our ability to get innovative treatments to the market.”

Other investors in iScience include Asset Management Co., Prism VentureWorks, DeNovo Ventures, Three Arch Partners, Affinity Capital Management, Johnson & Johnson Development Corp., CHV Capital Inc., L Capital, and Sightline Partners

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