Phosphoenix, an Amsterdam-based MedTech startup developing a neuroprosthetic system for people with profound blindness, has completed a €1.3 million financing round to support preparations for its first-in-human clinical study and the further development of its neurostimulation system.
The round includes continued support from Phosphoenix’s existing investors, including TTT Medtech Fund (managed by 819 Capital), FIRST Fund (managed by BioGeneration Ventures), and Innovatiefonds Noord-Holland, as well as a new investment from ROM InWest. The company announced its pre-Seed financing in September 2022.
Hans Brons, Chief Executive Officer of Phosphoenix, commented, “This financing represents an important step towards bringing our technology into the clinic. The continued support of our existing investors, together with the commitment of ROM InWest, provides strong validation of the progress we have made and enables us to advance our first-in-human preparations while building towards our Series A financing. Our ultimate goal is to restore meaningful functional vision to people living with profound blindness.”
Phosphoenix was founded in 2019 by Prof. Pieter Roelfsema, Prof. Xing Chen and Dr. Bert Monna. It is a spin-off from the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience (NIN), an institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW).
It is a neurotechnology company developing a prosthesis to stimulate nerve cells in brain regions involved in visual perception. The company states that blindness can have a profound impact on autonomy, mobility and quality of life, and there are currently no effective treatment options to restore functional vision for most people with retinal or optic nerve damage.
Phosphoenix claims to be developing its neuroprosthetic system to address this unmet need by directly stimulating the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), a key relay centre in the brain’s visual pathway. The company’s long-term ambition is to enable meaningful functional vision for people living with profound blindness.
The company notes that at the core of its neuroprosthetic system is the Fountain Probe, a proprietary, high-density neural interface incorporating more than 1,000 microelectrodes. The probe is designed to bypass damage to the retina or optic nerve by delivering electrical stimulation directly to the brain. The Fountain Probe is designed for implantation in the LGN using stereotactic neurosurgical techniques that build on established approaches used in deep brain stimulation, notes Phosphoenix.
It further notes that its prosthesis bypasses the eyes and interfaces directly with the brain. The user is required to wear a pair of glasses equipped with a camera that sends the video feed to a pocket processor.
“Advanced AI techniques convert video footage into instructions for electrical stimulation in real time. Our brain implant applies tiny electrical pulses to the visual system, inducing artificially generated percepts in the form of dots of light, known as ‘phosphenes.’ Generation of multiple phosphenes creates an interpretable image, akin to a constellation of stars in the night sky,” explains Phosphoenix.
According to the Dutch startup, preclinical studies have demonstrated neural and behavioural responses consistent with electrically induced visual percepts, and Phosphoenix is now progressing towards its FIH clinical study, which is planned in collaboration with Amsterdam UMC.
Sara Schaafsma, senior investment manager LSH at ROM InWest, said, “Phosphoenix is developing a potentially life-changing technology for people living with profound blindness. We are impressed by the combination of scientific excellence, strong clinical relevance, and the team’s progress towards clinical validation. With its roots in Amsterdam through the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Phosphoenix is also an excellent example of how scientific innovation from our region can translate into societal impact. We are pleased to support the company as it advances towards its first-in-human study.”
The company plans to use this capital to support its preparations for its first-in-human (FIH) clinical study and the further development of its neurostimulation system. At the same time, the company is preparing for a Series A financing round to fund its clinical development programme.
