Led by a team of seasoned veterans, RetroSense Therapeutics was founded in 2009 to develop a new gene therapeutic approach to vision restoration. Its flagship innovation, RST-001 is a novel gene therapy for the potential treatment of Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP). Its innovations are addressing some of the leading causes of blindness in the world. The approach was invented in Detroit at Wayne State University, and the company chose to grow in Ann Arbor.
Recently, RetroSense secured FDA clearance to begin human clinical studies of its therapy. Last year, the company raised a $7M Series B, including investment from outside of Michigan.
Most notably, RetroSense was acquired by Allergan, a leading global pharmaceutical company. Allergan bought virtually all of RetroSense’s assets for $60 million cash up front with additional, undisclosed funding to follow based on the company achieving key development and commercialization milestones.
The company’s phenomenal success has been a deliberate march forward as RetroSense tapped in to resources available in the Ann Arbor region. Ann Arbor SPARK has provided support to RetroSense since 2010, including investment through the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund, grants for pre-clinical and clinical trial planning, corporate identity, branding, and website, and study design and validation.
RetroSense was also a client at Ann Arbor SPARK’s accelerator, which is funded by the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti SmartZone (LDFA), since 2012. Recently, the company was able to complete market research provided by Ann Arbor SPARK’s programs.
The funding RetroSense received from the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund, which is supported by the 21st Century Jobs Fund and the Michigan Economic Development Corp., was the first outside equity it raised and was a match to the grant it received from the National Institutes of Health.
“Investment from the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund allowed RetroSense to meet key milestones that led to additional outside investment,” said Sean Ainsworth, RetroSense CEO, explaining how early support propelled the company to its successful Series B and its acquisition. “The company’s further success and acquisition by Allergan clearly illustrates the importance of the state and public sector in nurturing startups.”
“Ann Arbor SPARK also provided non-dilutive funding that was important at the early stage,” Ainsworth added. “These combined investments were critical at a time when other investors might not be willing to jump into funding a young, unproven company.”
Going forward, the RetroSense team has joined Allergan and will continue the development of the company’s optogenetics programs.
