Lisbon, 2 July 2025 – Portugal Ventures, the venture capital company of Grupo Português do Fomento, announces the reinforcement of its investment in INEYE Therapeutics, a biotechnology startup that is revolutionising the treatment of eye diseases. The follow-on, worth 250 thousand euros, was carried out in co-investment with Insight Venture, for a total of 600 thousand euros invested in this round.
The first bet on INEYE was made through Call INNOV-ID, in 2023, with an initial investment of 100 thousand euros. With this new round, the startup takes another step in the clinical validation of its innovative and patented ocular drug delivery technology, which allows drugs to be delivered in a controlled manner in the eye for several months – eliminating the need for daily drops and increasing treatment adherence and effectiveness. In this first phase, the company will direct the research of its technology towards dry eye therapy.
Founded in 2017 by two researchers from the University of Coimbra, INEYE was born with the purpose of transferring to the market the research results of one of the co-founders during his PhD. The technology developed is already patented in several countries and positions the startup at the forefront of innovation in the field of ophthalmology.
With this capital increase, Portugal Ventures reaffirms its role in boosting the health and biotechnology ecosystem, investing in solutions with internationalisation potential and a strong scientific base.
