US biotechnology company GelMEDIX Inc announced on Tuesday the completion of a USD13m seed financing led by Safar Partners, with participation from HTL Biotechnology, Beacon Angels, TiE Boston Angels, Boston Harbor Angels, and other investors.

GelMEDIX says that it will apply the proceeds to advance the company's lead program, GMX-101, a retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cell therapy to treat late-stage Geographic Atrophy (GA). GA is a progressive, advanced form of dry age-related macular degeneration (dAMD) that causes permanent, irreversible central vision loss. The financing will also support the continued development and validation of GelMEDIX's proprietary injectable hydrogel scaffold platform, which is engineered to optimise the delivery, efficacy, and safety of cell and gene therapies.

Michael J. Cima, PhD, David H. Koch Professor of Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Parinaz Motamedy, MBA, Partner, Safar Partners, were appointed to the GelMEDIX board of directors in connection with the financing.

GelMEDIX also announced its first strategic collaboration agreement with a global pharmaceutical company. Under the terms of the agreement, GelMEDIX will provide its hydrogel scaffold technology, which the undisclosed partner will use in combination with several of its own cell lines to develop stem cell-derived cell therapies. Further terms of the agreement were not disclosed.