Project Grant R01EY025717

This federal Project Grant award from the National Eye Institute (NEI), under the Vision Research program (CFDA 93.867), is funding the development of OPGX-RHO, a single-vector gene therapy for the treatment of autosomal-dominant retinitis pigmentosa (ADRP). The $882,971 award supports two key objectives: 1) completing chemistry, manufacturing, and controls for a clinical-grade batch of OPGX-RHO, including stability studies and device compatibility testing, and 2) conducting efficacy and...

The National Eye Institute (NEI) awarded a $1,765,704 Project Grant (CFDA 93.867 - Vision Research) to Trustees of Boston University to develop an injectable optoacoustic retina prosthesis for high-precision, minimally invasive retina stimulation. The project aims to create a soft, biocompatible optoacoustic material that can be injected into targeted retinal areas and stimulated with patterned illumination to achieve retinal stimulation at 40-50 micron spatial resolution. This novel approach...

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) awarded a $327,864 Project Grant under the Drug Abuse and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279) to Opsin Biotherapeutics Inc. to develop an optogenetic pain modulator for non-opioid chronic pain management. The project aims to optimize the optical delivery and wireless stimulation device for the Multi-Characteristic Opsin (MCO) that can be delivered to pain-sensing neurons and stimulated to minimize pain perception. The...

This federal Project Grant award from the National Eye Institute (NEI), under the Vision Research program (CFDA 93.867), provides $256,296 to The General Hospital Corporation (doing business as Massachusetts General Hospital) to develop advanced optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) technology for imaging the peripheral retinal microvasculature. The project aims to create a high-speed adaptive ranging OCTA system that can significantly expand the imaging depth range of traditional...

This Project Grant award from the National Eye Institute (NEI) under the Vision Research federal grant program (CFDA 93.867) will fund the development of a new wide-field visible-light optical coherence tomography (WF-VIS-OCT) device to evaluate the oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) model in rats. The $623,090 award, effective September 1, 2024, will support the Oregon Health & Science University in three main efforts: 1) developing the WF-VIS-OCT system with 5-mm transverse resolution over a...

This $380,000 Project Grant award from the National Eye Institute (NEI), under the Vision Research program (CFDA 93.867), supports research to investigate the role of interphotoreceptor matrix proteoglycans in retinal homeostasis and retinitis pigmentosa. The project aims to: 1) Explore how the proteoglycans IMPG1 and IMPG2 facilitate nutrient exchange between the retina and retinal pigment epithelium, and how mutations in these molecules lead to adult-onset retinitis pigmentosa; 2) Determine...

The National Eye Institute (NEI) awarded a $431,750 Project Grant (CFDA 93.867 - Vision Research) to the University of California, Irvine to develop a novel femtosecond laser-based technique for enhanced transepithelial gene delivery to the cornea. The project aims to create microchannels through the corneal epithelium to improve diffusion of therapeutic DNA, and leverage femtosecond laser pulses to open temporary pores in stromal cells to enable safer plasmid-based gene delivery without the...

This federal Project Grant award from the National Eye Institute (NEI) under the Vision Research program (CFDA 93.867) will support research to investigate the role of the opsin protein OPN5 in modulating corneal wound healing through light-dependent mechanisms. The total funding amount is $441,250, with a project period from September 1, 2024 to May 31, 2029. The key objectives of this project are to: 1) Test the light regimen necessary for accelerating corneal wound healing in mice, 2)...

The National Eye Institute (NEI) awarded Revopsis Therapeutics, Inc. a $933,533 Project Grant under the Vision Research program (CFDA 93.867) to advance the development of their first-in-class RO-104 trispecific surrobody treatment for retinal diseases. RO-104 simultaneously targets three key angiogenic factors - VEGF-A, VEGF-C, and Ang-2 - that contribute to vision loss in conditions like age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and retinal vein occlusion. The award will fund...

This Project Grant award from the National Eye Institute (NEI) under the Vision Research program (CFDA 93.867) provides $1,066,178 to Tavo Biotherapeutics, Inc. (operating as Oculo Therapy LLC) to support late-stage preclinical development and GMP production of a novel extended-release intraocular pressure (IOP)-lowering formulation for the treatment of glaucoma. The funding will enable critical IND-enabling studies for this first-in-class drug candidate using the FDA-approved drug pregabalin as...