D-Sight, a spin-off of the Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), and CataloniaBio & HealthTech member, has received an investment of one million euros from the venture capital fund Clave Capital to develop new innovative therapeutic strategies for the treatment of diabetic retinopathy and other neurodegenerative diseases of the retina, such as glaucoma. This operation is the fund’s first investment in Catalonia.

Diabetic retinopathy is the most common microvascular complication associated with diabetes and the main cause of preventable visual disability and blindness among the working-age population worldwide. As the D-Sight CEO, Carla Maté Goldar, explains, "The only treatments available on the market are highly invasive (laser and intravitreal injections), expensive and have numerous associated adverse effects. We, therefore, face an unmet medical need worldwide, for which D-Sight has an innovative, low-cost, non-invasive, safe and effective solution."

With the funding it has obtained, D-Sightwill be able to progress in the first phase of clinical validation for the project, aiming to continue validating it in more advanced clinical development stages, ultimately enabling its marketing licence with major pharmaceutical companies in the sector that market such products. The company’s long-term mission and vision is to research and develop new innovative therapies for treating other retinal diseases in which neurodegeneration plays a key role, such as glaucoma.

D-sight’s first business project stems from a research line that has spanned over a decade, incubated within the VHIR Diabetes and Metabolism research group and the Endocrinology and Nutrition Department at Vall d’Hebron University Hospital. Leading this research are the company’s other co-founders, Dr  Rafael Simó and Dr  Cristina Hernández, renowned world opinion leaders in the field of diabetes and diabetic retinopathy.