Dry Eye 2020

Tackling the DED vicious circle
A RECENTLY AWARDED Health Research
Council project grant will investigate a novel
eye drop that tackles the vicious circle of dry
eye disease (DED), one of the most common,
yet undertreated, chronic ocular surface
conditions.
Multifactorial in nature, DED can arise from
numerous interrelated underlying pathologies.
Current therapies, however, often address
only a single issue, resulting in suboptimal
treatment outcomes, said investigators, led by
Associate Professor Ilva Rupenthal, director
of the Buchanan Ocular Therapeutics Unit, in
collaboration with Associate Professor Jennifer
Fig 1. Vicious DED circle and project aim
Craig, Dr Stuti Misra and Dr Priyanka Agarwal,
from the University of Auckland. “Moreover,
response to therapy is often slow with adverse
effects from formulation excipients such as
preservatives and surfactants causing further
ocular toxicity upon long-term use, ultimately
worsening DED symptoms.”
This project will investigate the
development of a preservative-free eye drop
that tackles both tear film instability and
ocular surface inflammation, without the
need for further additives, to break the vicious
circle of DED (Fig 1). This will be achieved
by combining the inflammasome inhibitor,
tonabersat, tackling inflammation upstream
of currently used anti-inflammatory drugs,
with a hydrocarbon vehicle able to stabilise
the tear film lipid layer, said A/Prof Rupenthal
who, together with Dr Agarwal, will be
responsible for formulation development and
characterisation, while A/Prof Craig and Dr
Misra will map inflammasome involvement
in DED patients to aid clinical translation.
The research team will be supported by two
PhD students, Santosh Bhujbal and a clinical
researcher who is yet to be appointed, and will
collaborate with the University of Cologne in
Germany to test the developed eye drop in a
A/Prof Jennifer Craig, Dr Stuti Misra and A/Prof Ilva
Rupenthal
pre-clinical model of DED
“We are very excited to get this project
started and develop an eye drop that
tackles underlying inflammation while
also addressing the tear film instability
seen in most DED patients,” said the team.
“DED remains one of the most common,
yet undertreated chronic ocular surface
conditions which negatively impacts the
quality of life of patients. This eye drop has
the potential to narrow the significant gap
between diagnosed and appropriately treated
DED patients in the near future.”
We share
your vision
At Optos, we share your vision for a brighter future.
Upgrade to Optos’ latest technology and grow revenue
for your practice. No repayments until 2021.*
* Conditions apply:
• Dependent on finance provider
• Ongoing customer care and marketing support.
T: +61 8 8444 6550
E: auinfo@optos.com
Image: Cobblestone
Degeneration - Daytona Plus
Optos.com
WWW.EYEONOPTICS.CO.NZ | 19