Phosphoenix, a medical technology company developing a neuroprosthetic system for people with profound blindness, has completed a €1.3 million financing round. The round combines continued support from Phosphoenix’s existing investors—TTT Medtech Fund (managed by 819 Capital), FIRST Fund (managed by BioGeneration Ventures), and Innovatiefonds Noord-Holland—with a new investment from ROM InWest.
The financing will support Phosphoenix’s preparations for its first-in-human (FIH) clinical study and the further development of its neurostimulation system. At the same time, the company is preparing for a Series A financing round to fund its clinical development program.
Blindness can have a profound impact on autonomy, mobility and quality of life, and there are currently no effective treatment options to restore functional vision for most people with retinal or optic nerve damage. Phosphoenix is developing its neuroprosthetic system to address this unmet need by directly stimulating the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), a key relay centre in the brain’s visual pathway. The company’s long-term ambition is to enable meaningful functional vision for people living with profound blindness.
At the core of Phosphoenix’s neuroprosthetic system is the Fountain Probe™, a proprietary, high-density neural interface incorporating more than 1,000 microelectrodes. The probe is designed to bypass damage to the retina or optic nerve by delivering electrical stimulation directly to the brain. The Fountain Probe is designed for implantation in the LGN using stereotactic neurosurgical techniques that build on established approaches used in deep brain stimulation. Preclinical studies have demonstrated neural and behavioural responses consistent with electrically induced visual percepts, and Phosphoenix is now progressing towards its FIH clinical study, which is planned in collaboration with Amsterdam UMC.
This financing represents an important step towards bringing our technology into the clinic. The continued support of our existing investors, together with the commitment of ROM InWest, provides strong validation of the progress we have made and enables us to advance our first-in-human preparations while building towards our Series A financing. Our ultimate goal is to restore meaningful functional vision to people living with profound blindness.
Hans Brons, Chief Executive Officer of Phosphoenix
Sara Schaafsma, senior investment manager LSH at ROM InWest, added: “Phosphoenix is developing a potentially life-changing technology for people living with profound blindness. We are impressed by the combination of scientific excellence, strong clinical relevance, and the team’s progress towards clinical validation. With its roots in Amsterdam through the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Phosphoenix is also an excellent example of how scientific innovation from our region can translate into societal impact. We are pleased to support the company as it advances towards its first-in-human study.”
Wim Smit, on behalf of Phosphoenix’s existing investors, said: “Phosphoenix is a front-runner in implantable neurotechnology for vision, and we are pleased to welcome ROM InWest alongside the company’s existing investors. Together, we are committed to supporting Phosphoenix as it enters its next phase and progresses towards its first-in-human study and a Series A financing round.”
Phosphoenix B.V. is a neurotechnology company and spin-off from the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience (NIN), an institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). The company is developing a high-density implantable neuroprosthetic system aimed at restoring functional vision in people with profound blindness by directly interfacing with the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), a key visual structure in the brain. Its proprietary Fountain Probe™ incorporates more than 1,000 microelectrodes and is designed to deliver targeted electrical stimulation to the visual pathway.
