EyeGate subsidiary receives second year of funding from U.S. Army

EyeGate Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced that its subsidiary, Jade Therapeutics, has received a second year of funding from the U.S. Army Medical Research and Material Command (USAMRMC) for a total of $448,185 to develop proprietary thiolated hyaluronic acid (CMHA-S) for use as an ocular bandage film.

“We are extremely grateful to the USAMRMC and Department of Defense for this grant, which provides non-dilutive funding that will allow us to continue our preclinical work to assess the potential of CMHA-S film as a treatment for ocular surface injuries," EyeGate’s CMO Dr. Barbara Wirostko said. "In addition to enhanced healing, which has been demonstrated in the liquid formulation of CMHA-S, we believe that the film formulation of the product can act as a protective bandage and barrier to adhesion.”

Wirostko said that the company's novel, polymer-based room temperature stable ocular surface bandage can be applied immediately at the time of eye injury to treat both acute and chronic ocular surface conditions, with the potential to greatly reduce post-incident complications that could lead to permanent eye injury or blindness.

"The product has the potential to benefit both the military and civilian populations not only as a treatment for traumatic injury, but also as a bandage for ocular surface defects, inflammation, corneal damage and other conditions," she said.