SEATTLE—SightLife, a nonprofit health organization working to eliminate corneal blindness, has raised $10 million in a Series A financing round led by Flying L Partners, a new health care investment firm launched by the veteran health care executive and entrepreneur William Link.

The investment will fund SightLife’s creation of SightLife Surgical, a for-profit subsidiary of the Seattle-based organization, according to a statement SightLife issued on Oct. 13. The new resources also will enable SightLife Surgical to “accelerate the SightLife mission to eliminate corneal blindness worldwide—now by 2040—by driving innovations that lead to advancements in the corneal ecosystem,” the statement noted.

Corneal blindness is a neglected issue in the developing world, where the majority of the world's estimated 10 million bilaterally corneal blind live, according to SightLife’s statement. Fewer than 30,000 corneal transplants are performed annually in developing and emerging countries.

SightLife will be both the parent organization and majority owner of the new subsidiary, SightLife Surgical, according to the announcement. This structure “maintains the nonprofit status of SightLife as the parent organization and adds a for-profit ‘engine’ to power the mission.”

The announcement noted that the structural transformation “is the next step in the evolution” of the company. With the support of the new experienced investor and corporate structure, SightLife said it is “poised to significantly amplify its strong market momentum,” and that it expects to “transform the way business is done in the corneal ecosystem.”

SightLife has experienced significant growth in recent years by acquiring Ocular Systems Inc. of North Carolina, and also joining forces with the Northeast Pennsylvania Lions Eye Bank in Bethlehem, Pa. SightLife is the world’s largest provider of corneal tissue for transplant.

“I admire mission-based, for-profit companies that deliver solutions to tough diseases,” Link said in the announcement. “These high-performance, mission-based companies attract significant capital from investors and focus these resources on innovation and tackling challenging diseases. When done well, patients and providers benefit and, thus, investors are rewarded.”

Flying L Partners was formed by Link, Richard Lindstrom, MD, and Andy Corley to “focus on raising capital and funding projects of merit, primarily in the ophthalmic field.” The investor team has an extensive track record of funding and building successful medical product companies, many of which are in eyecare, according to the announcement.