Memento Medicines, a privately held biotech developing biologic therapies for retinal disease, has launched with a $93 million Series A round co-led by Forbion, RA Capital Management, and Avego BioScience Capital. Alongside the launch, the company secured worldwide rights for MMT-205 through an exclusive license agreement with South Korea–based MabTics Co., Ltd. and Curacle Co., Ltd.

MMT-205, previously known as MT-103, is a bispecific antibody designed to activate the Tie2 receptor while simultaneously inhibiting VEGF—two targets with a well-established role in the pathogenesis of retinal vascular disease. According to the company, proceeds from the financing will fund IND-enabling studies, with clinical trials expected to begin in 2027. Under the licensing terms, MabTics and Curacle received upfront cash and equity in Memento.

The arrival of faricimab (Vabysmo; Genentech), the first FDA-approved bispecific to target both Ang-2 and VEGF-A, established that stabilizing the Tie2 axis on top of VEGF blockade can deliver better retinal drying and durability than anti-VEGF monotherapy. But faricimab acts on Tie2 indirectly by neutralizing Ang-2, the antagonist that destabilizes the receptor. Memento is taking the opposite tack—engaging Tie2 directly as an agonist rather than removing a brake on it.

That distinction is the crux of the company's differentiation pitch. Memento says MMT-205 produces greater Tie2 activation and improved retinal vascular integrity than current therapies in preclinical models.

"MMT-205 holds the potential to become a best-in-class biologic therapy in nAMD and DME and is supported by a robust preclinical data package established by our partners at MabTics and Curacle," said Naveen Daryani, CEO of Memento Medicines, in a press release. He added that the investor syndicate's "deep domain expertise in ophthalmology" should help accelerate the program toward patients.

Dmitrij Hristodorov, PhD, general partner at Forbion, framed the asset in similar terms, calling MMT-205 a potentially "transformative therapeutic in retinal diseases" and pointing to the firm's track record building ophthalmology companies. For MabTics and Curacle, the deal validates a bispecific discovered in Korea on the global stage; the 2 companies continue to collaborate on biologics targeting vascular dysfunction, with Curacle separately advancing the small molecule Rivasterat (CU06) in phase 2 for DME.

The launch echoes the $100 million debut of bispecific-focused Ollin Biosciences and EyeBio's expansion of its Series A to $130 million for the tri-specific Wnt agonist Restoret.

The structure behind Memento reinforces the asset-centric thesis driving much In connection with the financing, Hristodorov, Zach Scheiner, PhD (RA Capital), Vishal Kapoor, MBA (Avego BioScience Capital), and Megan Krench, PhD (Sanofi Ventures), will join Memento's board of directors.

Whether MMT-205's direct-agonism approach translates into a durability or drying advantage over an entrenched standard of care will not be clear until clinical data arrive late this decade. For now, Memento has the capital, the syndicate, and a mechanistic story distinct enough to earn a close look from the retina community.

Author(s)Ophthalmology Times