The Investor Panel at EIS 2026 compromised an international group of four participants who answered questions posed by moderators Kourous Rezaei, MD and Martin Zinkernagel, MD, PhD.

Asked about the challenges and opportunities for investing in ophthalmology, Roger Zhang, PhD, TCGX Asia, said that when it comes to indications that have larger target populations, such as neovascular age-related macular degeneration or diabetic macular oedema, the presence of a competitive landscape and its quickly evolving nature represents a challenge. Offering advice for early-stage companies that are thinking about competing with a product for an already crowded indications, he said to understand how it fits into the landscape and the potential to develop differentiated therapeutics. In terms of opportunities, Dr. Zhang said that they do continue to emerge for improving on standard of care for some of the larger indications as well as for those for which there have not been good therapeutic options. 

Elisa Petris, PhD, Syncona responded to a question on what role artificial intelligence plays in her company’s considerations for investing. She noted that Sycona may be taking a more reserved approach than other investment firms and described it as being “incremental to our investment thesis” but not taking a central role in major issues, such as for drug discovery. 

Answering what are key elements his company considers when deciding to invest in an early-stage startup company, Babak Nemati, PhD, Strategic Intelligence, Inc, said that strategic fit is the first filter. He opined that his answer probably would be echoed by others as well. 

“We’re looking for differentiated science — perhaps a novel mechanism of action or treatment pathway and not an incremental variation on what already exists. We look at the competitive landscape, and if a real unmet need is being addressed,” Dr Nemati said. 

The patent state is also reviewed with recognition that it will not be fully matured when a company is seeking support at an early stage of development. 

For those in the room interested in seeking investor support, Anta Gkelou, PhD, Sofinnova Partners, addressed the important question of what clinicians can do to make their idea attractive when approaching investors. She noted that clinicians know best about the product’s profile and patients’ needs for all indications.
“If anyone in the audience believes that they have something in hand that can be transformative, that’s as good as it can get for an investor to look at a project further,” she said. 

That said, those seeking funding must have done their due diligence in having a clinical development plan and know the competitive positioning for their product not only at present but also what it will be once late-stage clinical development is reached.

All panelists were asked what they consider the hottest investment opportunity in ophthalmology in the next two years, and their answers showed general agreement.  In terms of the larger indications, the investment space seems to be moving toward next generation products that can crack the existing efficacy ceiling and treatment burden by offering novel or multiple mechanisms of action and different dosing profiles. Depending on the investment firm, there is also interest in opportunities beyond medications for devices or drug-device platforms that could impact retinal diseases.