Proteris Biotech awarded second federal grant to develop a biologic eye drop for the treatment of epitheliopathy in dry eye
September 19, 2023
The National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant R41-EY034396 to Proteris Biotech, Inc. (PB) to continue development of an innovative eye drop technology for the treatment of ocular surface damage in dry eye, also called epitheliopathy. The ultimate goal is a new U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved biologic drug. The grant begins September 30, 2023.
Dry eye, characterized by inadequate hydration and lubrication of the ocular surface, is a group of disorders that affects ~5 million people over the age of 50 in the USA today. Dry eye is brought on by many situations, including aging, eye surgery, autoimmune conditions, and environmental exposure. Symptoms include pain, burning, itching, redness, sensitivity to light, and other discomfort. If left untreated, severe cases may result in vision loss due to corneal scarring.
The active ingredient of PB’s eye drop is clusterin, a natural protein found in all bodily fluids, including the tears. Clusterin is a molecular chaperone and matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor. PB’s collaborators at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles, and at Tufts Medical Center and Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, showed in two preclinical models that clusterin prevents and ameliorates ocular surface epitheliopathy due to dry eye.
“At the present time, there are only two FDA-approved drugs for the treatment of dry eye”, observes PB’s Chief Scientific Officer M. Elizabeth Fini, Ph.D. “These drugs target the inflammatory response. They act very slowly, and neither was consistently effective in improving epitheliopathy in human clinical trials. Clusterin also has anti-inflammatory activity. However the innovation of clusterin is that it works by targeting the ocular surface damage common to all forms of dry eye. Clusterin acts quickly to protect, seal and heal.”
The mission of the NIH STTR program is to support scientific excellence and technological innovation through the investment of Federal research funds in critical American priorities to build a strong national economy. A feature of the STTR program is the requirement for the small business to formally collaborate with an academic institution. PB will subcontract a portion of the work under the new grant to Sharmila Masli, Ph.D. at Boston University School of Medicine. Dr. Masli is an Associate Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology.
“NIH grant applications are rigorously peer-reviewed in a highly competitive process”, notes PB’s Chief Executive Officer John C. Fini. “Award of this second NIH grant provides new independent validation of our vision for clusterin as a breakthrough therapeutic.”
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Proteris Biotech, Inc. is a start-up biotechnology company incorporated in Glendale, California, but currently based in Mansfield, Massachusetts. The company platform is therapeutic products that harness the body’s natural response to stress.
Contact: John C. Fini, CEO
Email: Proterisbiotech@gmail.com
Website: www.proterisbiotech.com
This press release was prepared by Proteris Biotech Inc. Its content does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.