Breye Therapeutics Secures $73M to Transform Eye Disease Treatment

Jan de Vries · 2026-10-02

Breye Therapeutics, a Danish biopharmaceutical company, just raised €67.5 million (about $73 million) in an oversubscribed Series A round. That's a big deal for a company developing oral therapies for retinal diseases. The round was co-led by Mission BioCapital and Novo Holdings, with support from Sound Bioventures and new investors like the Ljungström family office, Innovestor Life Science, EIFO, Catalyze Capital, Modi Ventures, and Pappas Capital. With this funding, Robert Blazej from Mission BioCapital and Lukas Ljungström will join the board. ### What This Funding Means for Patients CEO Ulrik Mouritzen said the financing reflects strong confidence in Breye's vision and pipeline. More importantly, it lets them push their lead drug, danegaptide, into the next phase of clinical trials. Danegaptide is a first-in-class oral treatment for diabetic retinopathy—a condition that affects about 130 million people worldwide and is a leading cause of vision loss in working-age adults. The current market for diabetic retinopathy treatments is nearing $10 billion and could double in the next decade. ### Why Oral Therapies Matter Existing treatments for late-stage disease involve injections directly into the eye. They can preserve vision, but they're invasive, often poorly tolerated, and many patients stop adhering to the regimen. For early or moderate stages, options are limited. Breye's oral pill could offer a patient-friendly alternative that's easier to take and might work earlier in the disease. ### The Science Behind Danegaptide Danegaptide is an oral small molecule that stabilizes retinal blood vessels. It protects against capillary breakdown and leakage caused by high blood sugar. In a Phase 1b trial last year, it was well tolerated across all doses and showed early signs of activity, including reduced vascular leakage. The company also published supportive data in Science Translational Medicine. ### What's Next for Breye? With this new funding, Breye plans to advance danegaptide into further clinical development. They're also working on oral therapies for other eye diseases like intermediate age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma. If successful, these treatments could change how we manage retinal diseases—moving from invasive injections to convenient pills. > "This financing enables us to advance danegaptide, our pioneering, first-in-class oral treatment for diabetic retinopathy, to the next stage of clinical development – bringing a much-needed patient-friendly treatment option closer to those living with this debilitating eye disease." – Ulrik Mouritzen, CEO Robert Blazej from Mission BioCapital added, "Breye is emerging as a leader in the development of innovative retinal disease therapies... we believe Breye is uniquely positioned to address significant unmet needs." ### The Bigger Picture Breye's success highlights the growing interest in oral therapies for eye diseases. It also shows how European biotech startups can attract major investment. For patients, it offers hope for simpler, more tolerable treatments. For the industry, it's a sign that innovation in retinal health is accelerating.