Recornea, the start-up that enables vision restoration, receives a € 150,000 investment from Scientifica Venture Capital

Scientifica Venture Capital announces its 12th investment, focusing on Recornea. This operation is part of an imminent capital increase of over €700,000 for the start-up.

Recornea is a cutting-edge start-up in the field of ophthalmic therapeutic solutions, currently developing innovative treatments for corneal diseases, with a particular focus on keratoconus.

Keratoconus is a degenerative condition affecting more than 2% of the global population – over 218 million patients are affected – with more than 2 million new cases each year. It causes thinning and weakening of the cornea, leading to progressive vision loss. This condition typically arises during puberty and continues to progress into adulthood, affecting men and women equally. When keratoconus is present in an eye, the transparent, dome-shaped layer covering the eye thins, creating a protrusion that forms a cone.

Current standards of care for early-stage keratoconus involve corneal cross-linking, a procedure using ultraviolet light and a medication to strengthen the cornea and prevent further deformation, and for advanced stages, ICRS (intracorneal ring segments) – circular polymeric ring segments of varying diameters and thicknesses.

The Recornea team has developed a technology capable of restoring the cornea’s physiological curvature, representing a significant advancement over traditional corneal rings on the market. This technology, named GROSSO, is the first corneal implant made of nitinol, which helps patients with advanced-stage keratoconus regain their sight. The implant can be inserted into a patient’s cornea through a conservative-additive refractive surgery that does not require the removal of corneal tissue.

Recornea aims to significantly improve the quality of life for patients with keratoconus by providing advanced therapeutic solutions that can be easily integrated into daily clinical practice.

“Our investment in Recornea reflects Scientifica Venture Capital’s confidence in pioneering, minimally invasive technologies for the protection and improvement of ocular health,” stated Riccardo D’Alessandri, Managing Partner of Scientifica Venture Capital. “We are proud to support such an innovative company with a technology capable of reshaping the cornea in patients with corneal ectasia, restoring adequate quality of life and the ability to see the world around them” he concluded.

“We are very pleased to have Scientifica Venture Capital as an Italian Venture Capital fund on board. Our start-up was founded in Singapore and quickly gained the trust of foreign investors such as Entrepreneur First and Health Wildcatters, who believed in our team and the high potential of our technology even before there were any pre-clinical data to support it” said Emiliano Lepore, founder of Recornea. “In the Italian context, we had so far encountered greater caution from local funds regarding early-stage investments. However, Scientifica Venture Capital, with its Italian soul and international mindset, believed in our technology and execution capabilities, alongside other investors like B-Heroes, GFactor, and Letizia Mansutti. During this fundraising phase, the support of Paola Di Rosa, Investor Relations Officer, was crucial in building a trusting relationship with them. Thanks to this investment, we are already in the clinical trial phase with very promising data and are planning our next Series A round in 2025. We will be able to continue with the production, certification, and commercialization of our implant, as well as further develop R&D activities on glaucoma and biosynthetic cornea. Having the trust of venture capital firms like Scientifica, who believe in long-term investment, is essential for a medtech company like ours,” he concluded.

The law firm Alpeggiani Avvocati Associati assisted Scientifica Venture Capital, while Recornea received legal assistance from the law firm Withers.