• Proceeds to support development of lead compound GB-102
  
• Christy Shaffer, Ph.D. appointed Chair of the Board
  

BALTIMORE (March 10, 2015) – GrayBug, Inc., a privately held pharmaceutical company developing drug delivery therapies and sustained-release compounds for the treatment of eye diseases, today announced the closing of a $1.74 million Series A2 financing round led by new investor Hatteras Venture Partners and existing investor Maryland Venture Fund. The proceeds will advance development of GB-102, GrayBug’s proprietary microparticle candidate for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), as well as enable the expansion of the company’s development team. Christy Shaffer, Ph.D., Managing Director of Hatteras Discovery at Hatteras Venture Partners, has been appointed Chair of GrayBug’s Board of Directors.

“This financing from new and existing investors is a testament to the potential of GB-102 and of our proprietary micro- and nanoparticle injectable drug delivery technology,” said Michael O’Rourke, President and Chief Executive Officer of GrayBug. “We are especially fortunate to have Christy as Chair of our Board. Her proven business acumen and ophthalmic industry expertise will be invaluable as we advance GB-102 through preclinical development to submission of an IND, and seek to establish strategic industry partnerships that leverage our proprietary sustained-release drug delivery science.”

Spun out of the world-renowned Wilmer Eye Institute at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, GrayBug is developing long-lasting ophthalmic drug products that can reduce the frequency of intravitreal injections needed to treat chronic ocular diseases, including wet AMD and glaucoma. These products are designed based on GrayBug’s proprietary sustained-release technology that reduces the inflammation frequently associated with intravitreally administered conventional polymer particles. In addition, the company continues to expand its polymer-based drug delivery technology portfolio for ophthalmic applications.

“I’m delighted to be involved with a growing company that offers highly innovative and disruptive technology,” said Dr. Shaffer. “With its unique drug candidate GB-102 and a world-class team of co-founders, including Dr. Justin Hanes, Dr. Peter McDonnell, and Dr. Peter Campochiaro, I have confidence in GrayBug to make a profound impact on the future treatment of serious ocular diseases.”

GrayBug has also secured funding from the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health, totaling more than $650,000 in the past year with four Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant awards, to help drive the company’s research and development efforts.

About GrayBug

GrayBug is a Baltimore, Maryland-based privately held preclinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on developing breakthrough products for serious ocular diseases. The company is developing a continuum of therapeutic products for major ocular disease indications utilizing proprietary micro- and nanoparticle controlled-release technologies. The broad platform has applicability for potential strategic partnerships. GrayBug’s technologies were co-developed by several of the founders, including Justin Hanes, Ph.D, Lewis J. Ort Professor of Ophthalmology at the Wilmer Eye Institute at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, in collaboration with Dr. Peter J. McDonnell and Dr. Peter Campochiaro, leading ophthalmology clinician-scientists from the Wilmer Eye Institute.

The technologies were licensed from Johns Hopkins University. For more information, please visit www.graybug.com.

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