This Project Grant award from the National Eye Institute (NEI), under the Vision Research federal grant program (CFDA 93.867), supports the development of sustained-release cysteamine-delivering contact lenses to treat the ocular complications of cystinosis. The goal is to create a daily disposable contact lens that can provide the same therapeutic effect as the current 8-times-daily cysteamine eye drop regimen, while addressing issues with the drops such as poor patient compliance, preservative toxicity, and drug oxidation. The $332,179 award will fund GMP manufacturing and one-year potency testing for these nanobarrier-enabled contact lenses, which have demonstrated 2-4 hours of sustained cysteamine release in preliminary in vitro and in vivo studies. The lenses will be developed in various corrective powers to meet patient vision needs. Successful completion of this work is expected to lead to a pre-IND meeting with the FDA and Phase I clinical trials.
Generated 3/4/25, 8:14 AM