• The National Reconstruction Fund Corporation (NRFC) has committed $27 million to PolyActiva as part of its $40 million Series C round. PolyActiva is a Melbourne-based biotechnology company developing a potentially revolutionary eye implant technology to treat glaucoma.
  • This investment supports cutting-edge Australian research with the potential to transform treatment outcomes for millions living with glaucoma worldwide.
  • The funding will enable PolyActiva to expand and consolidate its operations into a single facility encompassing R&D, analytics and manufacturing, grow its highly skilled workforce, and complete its phase 2b clinical trial.

NRFC CEO David Gall said, “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. PolyActiva’s ground-breaking technology is being developed with the hope, in the future, to provide those facing this debilitating disease with an alternative treatment regime that will vastly improve their quality of life while reducing the treatment burden on medical providers.” 

Glaucoma is a chronic, progressive eye disease that can lead to irreversible blindness by damaging the optic nerve due to increased eye pressure. Less than 50% of glaucoma patients consistently use daily eye drops over time which leads to increased risk of vision loss.

PolyActiva’s Prezia’s technology emerged from research conducted at the CSIRO, Bionics Institute and Centre for Eye Research Australia. This exhibits the potential of Australian medical innovation and its ability to improve the lives of millions of people around the world.   

PreziaTM enables precise, consistent, customisable and effective delivery of ocular therapies for glaucoma and other eye diseases.

“The NRFC’s investment in PolyActiva allows the company to expand its highly skilled workforce to support local manufacturing of its drug delivery technology. PolyActiva’s implant technology has unique manufacturing requirements, so this investment helps to develop local capability and diversity in the pharmaceutical value chain, providing cascading benefits for Australia’s research, innovation and commercialisation ecosystem,” Mr Gall said.

In addition to its treatment for glaucoma, PolyActiva has the potential to deliver a variety of other intra-ocular treatments including the antibiotic levofloxacin. If successful, the treatment could reduce the risk of infection for patients that have recently undergone cataract surgery eliminating the need for peri-operative treatment and post-operation eye drops.

The NRFC’s investment is being made alongside Brandon capital, Australia’s leading biotech venture capital firm and comes as PolyActiva expands its commercial presence in the United States. 

PolyActiva’s Australian CEO Vanessa Waddell said, 

“Inspired by Cochlear's journey that leveraged Australian research to restore hearing to millions, PolyActiva is on our mission to reduce glaucoma-related vision loss globally.  This investment by the NRFC will help us do that, ensuring that we can complete our phase 2b clinical trial and prepare for phase 3 registration trial which will take us one step closer to a potential new therapy for glaucoma.”

NRFC Chief Investment Officer Dr Mary Manning said, “The NRFC’s cornerstone investment in PolyActiva will anchor the company’s current funding round alongside Brandon Capital, helping to crowd-in the additional funding that it needs. This is a great example of Australian innovation becoming a real-world solution that could improve millions of lives. The NRFC is proud to back PolyActiva and support the development of this breakthrough technology here at home.”

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Media contact: media@nrf.gov.au

About the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation (NRFC)
The NRFC invests to diversify and transform Australia’s industry and economy. It has $15 billion to invest using direct loans, equity investments and loan guarantees. The NRFC can invest in seven priority areas including value-add in resources; transport; medical science; defence capability; renewables and low emission technologies; value-add in agriculture, forestry and fisheries; and enabling capabilities. 

The NRFC’s role is to invest in Australian businesses and projects that design, refine and make to transform capability, grow jobs and a skilled workforce, and diversify our economy. The NRFC is a corporate Commonwealth entity, established by the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation Act 2023 (NRFC Act) in September 2023. 

For more information, visit nrf.gov.au

About PolyActiva
PolyActiva is a Melbourne headquartered clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering a novel drug delivery technology designed to improve treatment outcomes for patients with ocular conditions. 

PolyActiva’s proprietary technology platform, PREZIA™, enables precise, consistent, customizable, and effective delivery of ocular therapies, aiming to address unmet needs in glaucoma and other eye diseases. 

The company's lead product candidate, PA5108, is a biodegradable, latanoprost-releasing ocular implant offering a sustained alternative to traditional eye drop therapy for patients with glaucoma. 

For more information, visit polyactiva.com(Opens in a new tab/window)