In case of many eye conditions, including corneal infections or glaucoma, the only effective medication is very frequent administration of highly concentrated eye drops. In general, efficiency of any treatment with eye drops is severely hindered, as only 1-5% of the applied drug stays on the eye long enough to be effective.

Our nano-I-drops technology is a novel, patent protected carrier system for efficient delivery of drugs to the eye. Our cornea-adhering DNA-based nanoparticles can be loaded with various active compounds using different loading strategies. Thus a much lower concentration of the drug is needed resulting in reduction of side effects. Additionally, less frequent administration of eye drops can be achieved. Thereby improved therapy options can be offered and even substances which have been banned due to side effects or delivery problems can be brought to the market. Currently, we are developing and validating our carrier system with glaucoma drugs and antibiotics.

As our nanoparticles show excellent adherence to impaired tissue we will conduct further research on treatment options for dry eye disease. In addition, it is possible to substitute injections with eye drops containing our nanoparticle carrier system and thereby address retinal diseases.

Funding:

• EXIST Transfer of Research (Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy)
• EYEnovative award (Novartis Pharma GmbH)
• Research grant (Ernst and Berta Grimmke-Stiftung)

More information:

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29258013
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29110121

Prizes: