Topical Therapeutic for Ocular Trauma

Chronic and severe eye wounds are extremely painful, and may fail to heal leading to a potential loss of vision. It is estimated that over 17% of all military field casualties are due to a traumatic ocular injury. There is a need to develop new approaches to treat the injured eye that enhance regeneration of the ocular surface. The proposed novel, first-in-class silk-derived protein (SDP) ophthalmic formulation will simultaneously enhance regeneration and reduce inflammation associated with traumatic ocular injuries, while providing immediate and prolonged comfort during use for the injured patient. The objective of this proposal is to demonstrate the feasibility of identifying a SDP fraction that is optimized for enhancing the regeneration process on the ocular surface after the occurrence of traumatic injury as demonstrated in an in vitro model system of ocular injury. Production of the SDP is fully scalable to large quantities, and can be easily packaged and distributed similarly to a standard eye drop. The product is therefore amenable to transport in the field and to immediate application to the ocular surface upon injury. Leadership, commercialization partners, clinical advisers, and technical team are in place to support the full commercialization of the proposed product.