Funding to support commercial launch and continued development of treatments designed to ‘rejuvenate vision in the aging eye.’
British-American biotech Tenpoint Therapeutics has raised $235 million in new financing and announced the FDA approval of its once-daily prescription eye drop for presbyopia, a common form of age-related vision loss. The funding, which combines $85 million in Series B equity financing with a $150 million non-dilutive loan, will support the commercial launch of the company’s first product, and the advancement of addition pipeline programs aimed at age-related eye disease.
According to Tenpoint, its YUVEZZI product is the “first and only” FDA-approved combination eye drop for presbyopia, a condition that gradually reduces near vision, typically beginning in the mid-40s. The product combines carbachol and brimonidine tartrate in a single formulation designed to constrict the pupil and create a “pinhole” effect, with the goal of improving near visual acuity and depth of focus while maintaining distance vision.
The FDA’s approval decision was supported by two Phase 3 studies enrolling more than 800 patients. One of those trials demonstrated that the fixed-dose combination provided superior benefit compared with its individual components, a key regulatory requirement. A second study showed statistically significant improvements in near vision over an eight-hour period without compromising distance vision.
Tenpoint expects YUVEZZI to become broadly available in the US in the second quarter of 2026. The company claims that presbyopia affects an estimated 128 million people in the US and around 2 billion globally.
“The impact of presbyopia is often underestimated, and current solutions like glasses, contacts or surgery have fallen short in meeting the real-world needs of people who struggle with close-up tasks,” said Dr John Hovanesian of Harvard Eye Associates in Laguna Hills, California.
Beyond presbyopia, Tenpoint’s approach is built on the philosophy that the aging of the eye can be addressed as a continuum, particularly changes in the lens and retina that progressively impair vision over time. The company’s pipeline also includes programs targeting cataracts and geographic atrophy, an advanced form of dry age-related macular degeneration.
For cataracts, Tenpoint is developing a small-molecule injectable therapy designed to delay or potentially prevent the need for cataract surgery. The company says its approach targets multiple biological drivers of cataract formation, leveraging alpha-crystallins – naturally occurring proteins that help maintain lens transparency by preventing other proteins from clumping together – with the aim of restoring or preserving lens clarity and function.
In geographic atrophy, a condition that causes irreversible central vision loss, Tenpoint is developing an allogenic cell replacement therapy delivered via subretinal injection. GA is driven by the death of retinal pigment epithelium cells and photoreceptors, which do not regenerate naturally, and the company aims to replace lost RPE cells, allowing them to engraft in the retina and form a functional layer that supports photoreceptors.
The Series B round was led by Janus Henderson, EQT Nexus, Hillhouse and the British Business Bank, with participation from a mix of existing life sciences investors, while the debt facility was provided by Hercules Capital.
“It’s incredibly exciting to see the Series B financing and YUVEZZI approval align at the same moment, creating the perfect launch point for this exceptional ophthalmology team to deliver a best-in-class dual agent to this massive market,” said Tenpoint Chairman Dr David Guyer.
