UConn spinout LambdaVision wins $500K to advance work on retinal implant

PHOTO | HBJ FILE Nicole Wagner, CEO of LambdaVision, said the company is restoring vision to patients blinded by macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa using a retinal implant, seen in purple in the plastic package. The implant is coated with a light-activated protein, the purple liquid in the vial, and will replace the damaged photoreceptor cells, or light sensing cells, of the eye.

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By John Stearns

Connecticut Innovations has awarded $500,000 in venture funding to LambdaVision, a company spun out of UConn research, to further its work on a retinal implant to cure vision loss for millions of people worldwide.

LambdaVision uses a protein grown in the laboratory and implanted behind the retina. The protein is in preclinical trials to determine the stability and effectiveness of the implant, which is designed to restore high-quality vision to patients who are no longer candidates for traditional treatments and have end-stage retinal degeneration.

LambdaVision’s new funding, through the Connecticut Bioscience Innovation Fund, will support continued research and development, and the addition of experts in commercialization. To date, LambdaVision has secured $2.4 million in funding from state and federal sources, UConn said.

LambdaVision was co-founded by CEO Nicole Wagner in 2009 with UConn chemistry professor Robert Birge with support from UConn’s Technology Commercialization Services. It’s located in UConn’s Technology Incubation Program in Farmington.