The mission of this Bengaluru-based company is to democratize access to cell therapy products that cost more than $450,000 per injection globally. The treatment approach to bringing the cost down to less than a 50th of that won it the Top Innovator Award at the ET Startup Awards 2022.

Eyestem’s aim to treat “incurable” eye diseases. Its lead product Eyecyte-RPE is aimed at treating people with age-related macular degeneration, which causes blindness in people above 60 years of age. Its proprietary iCelldiff protocol allows Eyestem to create any cell of the body through a process that is repeatable, scalable and hence affordable. EyeCyte-RPE executes the cure through replacement of retinal pigment epithelium cells.

“We are excited, honoured and humbled that we received this award,” said Jogin Desai, cofounder and chief executive at Eyestem. “We still have a long way to go but this will help us move further along. What matters most is if we can figure out how to make our patients' lives better. The funding ecosystem for biotech startups is not as mature as tech and an award like this is a huge recognition which will certainly help. ET is doing a great service in highlighting good deep science.” With investors like Kotak Private Equity, Endiya Partners, Natco Pharma, Alkem Laboratories, and Biological E, Eyestem has raised Rs 51 crore in a Series A round with a total fundraise of Rs 76 crore so far.

Eyestem, which aims to treat “incurable” eye diseases won the 2022 ET Startup Top Innovator Award.