Best Ophthalmology Companies in United Kingdom
The 49 best Ophthalmology companies in United Kingdom in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: Gyroscope.
- Growth Foreseen for Ophthalmology Sector
Ranked: Best Ophthalmology companies in United Kingdom
| # | Company | Disclosed funding | Last round | Employees | Founder | Stage | Patents & IP focus | Recent signals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gyroscope Developer of gene therapies for eye diseases | $255M | 57 mo ago | 105 | — | Acquired | — | — |
| 2 | EyeBio Developer of therapies to treat ophthalmological diseases | $130M | 32 mo ago | 11 | David Guyer CEO | Acquired | — | — |
| 3 | Nightstar Developer of gene therapies for retinal diseases | $100M | 109 mo ago | 15 | Dave Fellows CEO | Acquired | — | — |
| 4 | Complement Therapeutics Developer of gene therapies to treat retinal diseases | $85M | 39 mo ago | 9 | Paul Bishop Co-Founder | Series A | 31 patents Therapeutics and diagnostics targeting complement C3b proteins for immune and ocular diseases | 1 job opening |
| 5 | Oxular Developer of drug delivery platform and therapeutics for ophthalmology | $58M | 65 mo ago | 6 | — | Acquired | 79 patents Formulation and delivery systems for ocular therapeutics | — |
| 6 | Mogrify Developer of regenerative medicine and cell therapies | $48M | 34 mo ago | 45 | Jose Polo Co-Founder | Series A | 35 patents Cellular reprogramming and culture methods for regenerative therapy, notably cochlear hair cell generation. | — |
| 7 | Lamellar Develops patented medical devices and pharmaceuticals based on mimetics of extra-alveolar lamellar bodies | $18M | 111 mo ago | 11 | — | Series C | — | — |
| 8 | Re-Vana Therapeutics Developer of drug delivery platform forophthalmic diseases | $17M | 44 mo ago | 1 | Michael O’Rourke CEO | Series A | 27 patents Biodegradable ocular drug‑delivery implants and compositions for eye therapeutics | — |
| 9 | OKYO Pharma Developer of therapeutics for the treatment of dry eye disease and chronic pain management | $10M | 12 mo ago | 6 | Gary Jacob Chief Executive Officer | Public | — | 1 expansion |
| 10 | Ikarovec Developer of gene therapies for ophthalmic treatment | $10M | 21 mo ago | 7 | Peter Widdowson Co-Founder | Seed | 17 patents Ocular gene and peptide therapeutics for treating retinal disorders | — |
| 11 | PolyPhotonix Developer of photonic technology-based devices to treat diabetic retinotherapy | $10M | 54 mo ago | 8 | Richard Kirk CEO | Series A | 84 patents Phototherapy devices delivering specific light wavelengths for dermatological treatments | 1 launch |
| 12 | Edinburgh Biosciences Developer of treatment of cataracts based on the light | $7M | 15 mo ago | 9 | Graham Bell CEO | Series A | 35 patents Ophthalmic cataract monitoring and treatment devices using imaging and therapeutic systems | — |
| 13 | Ocutec Developer of Polyethylene Glycol (PEG)-based ocular lens | $5M | 53 mo ago | 9 | — | Seed | 77 patents Advanced polymer formulations and packaging for contact lenses | — |
| 14 | Exonate Developer of small molecule drugs for retinal vascular diseases | $4M | 91 mo ago | 17 17 → 16 (-6%) | — | Seed | 54 patents Small-molecule kinase inhibitors targeting ocular neovascular disease pathways | — |
| 15 | Link Biologics Developer of therapeutics to treat inflammatory and degenerative disorders | $4M | 36 mo ago | — | Tony Day Co-Founder | Seed | — | — |
| 16 | Novai Developer of technology for retinal drug development | $3M | 58 mo ago | 17 17 → 18 (+6%) | Francesca Cordeiro Co-Founder | Seed | 6 patents Biomarkers for predicting angiogenesis in therapeutic and diagnostic applications | 1 partnership |
| 17 | Altacor Pharma Specialty ophthalmology company developing a portfolio of products in the fields of dry eye, glaucoma and… | $3M | 186 mo ago | 12 | — | Acquired | — | — |
| 18 | Epipole A hand-held digital retinal fundus camera | $2M | 73 mo ago | 12 | — | Seed | 11 patents Ophthalmic imaging and diagnostic devices, including ophthalmoscopes and eye model simulators. | — |
| 19 | Oxford Bioelectronics A nerve stimulation device for Dry AMD | $1M | 63 mo ago | 2 | Roly Allen CEO & MD | Seed | 8 patents Electrical stimulation kits and methods for enhancing peripheral nerve regeneration | — |
| 20 | Axovia Therapeutics Developer of gene therapies for rare genetic diseases | $1M | 21 mo ago | 14 | — | Seed | — | — |
| 21 | VisusNano Developer of drug-eluting intraocular lens implants | $377K | 51 mo ago | 4 | — | Seed | 11 patents Drug‑eluting intraocular lens coatings and microsphere drug‑release systems for ocular therapy | — |
| 22 | Azul Optics Device for assessing the eye health against damaging light | $362K | 88 mo ago | 4 | — | Seed | 3 patents Ophthalmic vision testing devices and diagnostic methods for visual acuity assessment. | — |
| 23 | Ocupeye Provider of 3D printed ocular prosthetics | $150K | 31 mo ago | 2 | Stephen Bell Founder | Seed | 9 patents Design and manufacturing of ocular prostheses and eye imaging devices | — |
| 24 | Vox Imaging Technology Provider of medical device for in-eye imaging | $127K | 30 mo ago | — | Alan Robinson Co-Founder | Seed | — | — |
| 25 | NanOptima Developer of drug delivery technology for retinal diseases | — | 64 mo ago | 1 | Ned Wakeman Founder | Seed | — | — |
| 26 | Rayner Manufacturer of intraocular lenses and ophthalmic devices | — | 82 mo ago | 259 | — | Acquired | — | 1 expansion |
Top 12 Ophthalmology companies in United Kingdom
#1
Public · London, England · founded 2018 · 6 employees$10.4Mraised▾
Developer of therapeutics for the treatment of dry eye disease and chronic pain management. The company's lead candidate is OK-101 to treat ocular diseases, including dry eye, uveitis, allergic conjunctivitis and ocular pain. It is also developing a non-opioid analgesic BAM8 utilizing oral and nasal formulations for the management of chronic pain.
- Jul 2025Grant (prize money)$1.9M
- Jan 2025Post IPO$1.4M
- Sep 2020Post IPO$659.5K
- Aug 2020Post IPO$1.9M
#2
Series A · Livingston, England · founded 2013 · 9 employees$6.9Mraised▾
Developer of treatment of cataracts based on the light. The company has developed a device that focuses light onto the affected lens which helps in reducing opacity. It can also monitor changes in the lens by measuring the light emitted from the protein aggregates when excited with ultra-violet rays.
- Apr 2025Conventional Debt$3.1M
- Jul 2021Series A$6.9M
#3
Seed · Derby, England · founded 2018 · 7 employees$10.3Mraised▾
Developer of gene therapies for ophthalmic treatment
- Oct 2024Seed$6.5M
- Jun 2020Grant (prize money)$575.5K
- Jan 2020Seed$3.2M
#4
Acquired · London, England · founded 2021 · 11 employees$130Mraised▾
Developer of therapies to treat ophthalmological diseases. The company focuses on the development of the new generation of therapies to restore and improve vision in patients with sight-threatening eye diseases. The company's lead product is an anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) drug for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
- Nov 2023Series A$65M
- Feb 2022Series A$65M
#5
Series A · Cambridge, England · founded 2014 · 45 employees$47.8Mraised▾
Developer of regenerative medicine and cell therapies. It is developing a technology platform to treat diseases in the fields of regenerative medicine and cell therapies. They have developed a proprietary tailored cellular conversion technology platform (systematic big-data approach). It enables gene-regulatory data to identify the combination of transcription factors (in vitro) or small molecules (in vivo).
- Oct 2023Series A$10M
- May 2021Series A$17M
- Jan 2020Series A$1.1M
- Oct 2019Series A$16M
#6
Seed · London, England · founded 2020 · 14 employees$1.3Mraised▾
Developer of gene therapies for rare genetic diseases. The company's program include AXV-101, targets Bardet-Biedl Syndrome, a ciliopathy linked to blindness and obesity. The therapy uses an adeno-associated virus (AAV9) to deliver functional copies of faulty genes, aiming to prevent retinal degeneration and address obesity symptoms.
- Oct 2024Grant (prize money)$1M
- Oct 2023Seed$318.7K
#7
Series A · London, England · founded 2020 · 9 employees$84.8Mraised▾
Developer of gene therapies to treat retinal diseases. The company's product line include CTx001 an AAV-based gene therapy for the targeted treatment of Geographic Atrophy due to dry age-related macular degeneration.
- Apr 2023Series A$79.1M
- Feb 2022Seed$5.7M
- 2021Seed—
#8
Acquired · Stevenage, England · founded 2016 · 105 employees$255Mraised▾
Developer of gene therapies for the treatment of eye diseases. The company focuses on a retinal disease, age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The Company’s lead product, GT005, is a novel retinal gene therapy aiming at delivering a targeted, one-off treatment for the progressive visual impairment caused by dry AMD in patients by locally modulating complement activity.
- Nov 2021Series C$40M
- Mar 2021Series C$148M
- Sep 2019Series B$60.8M
- Mar 2019Series A—
#9
Series A · Belfast, Northern Ireland · founded 2015 · 1 employees$16.8Mraised▾
Developer of drug delivery platform for ophthalmic diseases. The company platform is meant for chronic eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and glaucoma. It offers a flagship product EyeLief, is a photo cross-linked sustained-release biodegradable implant delivering both biologic and small molecule drugs .
- Nov 2022Series A$11.9M
- 2020Seed$2.1M
- Jun 2020Seed$1.2M
- 2017Seed$1.6M
#10
Acquired · Oxford, England · founded 2014 · 6 employees$57.5Mraised▾
Developer of drug delivery platform and therapeutics for ophthalmology. The leading programs, OXU-001 and OXU-003 enable the targeted delivery of drugs to posterior ocular tissues. The Oxusphere is a drug-containing biodegradable polymer system and Oxulumis is a semi-automated ocular administration device. The company is exploring indications in ophthalmic diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration, diabetic macular edema, and a few rare ophthalmic disorders.
- Mar 2021Series B$37M
- Jul 2016Series A$20.5M
#11
Acquired · London, England · founded 2013 · 15 employees$99.9Mraised▾
Developer of gene therapies for retinal diseases. The company's lead retinal gene therapy NSR-REP1 (Orphan Drug Designated by both the US FDA and EMA) is targeted for choroideremia (CHM), a rare, degenerative, X-linked genetic retinal disorder, which primarily affects males and is caused due to CHM gene mutation. The company's other candidates include NSR-RPGR for the treatment of X-linked retinitis pigmentosa (XLRP), which is currently undergoing dose-ranging Phase 1/2 clinical trials, and NSR-BEST1 gene therapy candidate for Best vitelliform macular dystrophy, which is currently under preclinical development.
- Jun 2017Series C$45M
- Nov 2015Series B$35M
- Jan 2014Series A$19.9M
#12
Seed · Manchester, England · founded 2020$3.9Mraised▾
Developer of therapeutics to treat inflammatory and degenerative disorders. It offers a lead biologic LinkTSG6 based on TSG-6 protective protein made in all the organs and tissues in response to inflammation and trauma. It is used for the treatment of Dry Eye Disease (DED) and Osteoarthritis.
- Jul 2023Seed$3.9M
Funding & investor landscape
Notable founders
Market landscape — 10 sub-themes by coverage
Share of Ophthalmology coverage by sub-theme.
Regulatory-risk over time rising
Funding & growth over time
funding rising · growth rising
How research on Medical Devices is moving in the United Kingdom
A read on the academic research around Medical Devices — which themes are gaining ground, the institutions and researchers driving them, and how the tone is shifting. Based on 522 United Kingdom-affiliated papers.
- Imperial College London66
- The Medical Device33
- University College London31
- University of Oxford25
- King's College London25
- Surgical robot6→26
- Robot9→24
- Robotic surgery1→4
- Human–computer interaction2→4
- Surgical robot16→30
- Robot14→26
- Biomedical engineering4→12
- Health care2→7
- Robotic surgery8→12
- Surgical robot7→17
- Health care11→17
- Quality (philosophy)3→9
- Robotics5→10
- Product (mathematics)6→11
Where medical devices is researched across United Kingdom
Location clusters by institution affiliation — each city's volume, stance tone, and a quick read on its hot topic, what's advancing, the opening opportunity, and the main concern.
Who's filing medical devices patents in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom medical devices patent filing is accelerating — 44,661 filings from 8,000 assignees (2016–2025), led by Smith & Nephew, Nicoventures Trading, CREO Medical; annual filings 4010→4019.
- Smith & Nephew3022
- Nicoventures Trading1947
- CREO Medical1678
- OWEN Mumford1480
- CMR Surgical1193
- Gyrus Medical1016
- Sanofi Aventis Deutschland1012
- Convatec867
Common questions
Riya reads income statements for fun. She covers the real money in a sector — revenue, growth, who actually earns — and never met a vague claim she didn't want a number for.