Project Grant R44ES024052

The National Eye Institute (NEI) awarded a $412,285 Project Grant under the Vision Research program (CFDA 93.867) to Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) to validate an advanced transepithelial corneal collagen crosslinking (CXL) technology. The goal is to develop a more effective CXL procedure that can strengthen the cornea without requiring removal of the surface epithelium, which often leads to complications. The key products and services to be delivered include: Constructing an...

This Project Grant award from the National Eye Institute (CFDA 93.867 Vision Research) provides $356,485 to Stellular Bio, Inc. to scale up manufacturing and conduct Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC) studies for their regenerative therapeutic candidate STLR-201 to treat Sjögren's syndrome-related dry eye disease. The key products and services to be delivered under this award include: Finalizing the STLR-201 drug substance processing strategy and scaling up production to enable GMP...

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...

The National Eye Institute (NEI) awarded a $431,750 Project Grant under the Vision Research program (CFDA 93.867) to the University of California, Irvine (UCI) to develop a novel femtosecond laser-based approach for non-viral corneal gene delivery. The key objectives are to create microchannels through the corneal epithelium to enhance transepithelial diffusion, and use subthreshold laser pulses to open membrane pores in stromal keratocytes for safer plasmid-based gene delivery without the...

This federal Project Grant awarded by the National Eye Institute (NEI), under the Vision Research federal grant program (CFDA 93.867), aims to develop a safe and effective topically administered pharmacotherapy to treat acute corneal pain. The $590,172 award to Vyluma Inc., with a period of performance from Sep 30, 2024 to Aug 31, 2025, will support three specific research aims: 1) a pharmacodynamic dose identification study to determine the minimum effective dose of the pregabalin-based...

This Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program, CFDA 47.084, provides $100,000 to develop a novel antioxidant ocular therapeutic. The University of Iowa will research and test a water-based formulation of complexed ubiquinol that can penetrate the cornea to treat oxidative stress in the eye. Oxidative stress from sources like UV exposure and contact lens wear can cause redness, irritation, inflammation and potentially lead to dry eye...

This Project Grant award by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of the Director under the Trans-NIH Research Support program (CFDA 93.310) provides $583,250 to The Schepens Eye Research Institute, Inc. to identify the mechanisms underlying ocular toxicity caused by nitrogen mustard exposure and evaluate specialized lipid mediators as potential medical countermeasures. The key objectives are to: 1) Determine how nitrogen mustard alters the function of conjunctival goblet cells and if...

This federal Project Grant award from the National Eye Institute (NEI), under the Vision Research program (CFDA 93.867), provides funding of $294,662 to Proteris Biotech, Inc. to support research on using the protein Clusterin (CLU) to treat ocular surface disease and dry eye. The project aims to determine whether CLU can protect the ocular surface epithelia from damage and also have an anti-inflammatory effect in dry eye disease. Recombinant human CLU will be tested for efficacy in a mouse...

This Project Grant award of $204,875.00 from the National Eye Institute (CFDA 93.867 - Vision Research) to Clemson University aims to evaluate the efficacy of thymosin beta-4 (TB4) as a novel treatment for Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK), a serious eye infection that can lead to vision loss. The project has two key objectives: In vitro testing to determine the inhibitory effects of TB4 on Acanthamoeba parasites and its impact on host cell apoptosis and cytokine release. Ex vivo testing using porcine...

This federal Project Grant award of $306,118 from the National Eye Institute (CFDA 93.867 - Vision Research) aims to develop a drug screening platform using functional human donor eyes to improve the translation probability of investigational new drugs (INDs) for blinding diseases. The project has two key objectives: Establish novel ex vivo preclinical models for human ocular diseases by restoring and preserving in vivo-like light responsiveness in postmortem human eyes for over 48 hours....