Sustained-Release of a Novel Neuroprotective Agent for Improved Glaucoma Therapy

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Glaucoma is a major cause of blindness, affecting over 70 million people worldwide. It is a neurodegenerative optic neuropathy in which vision loss results from the loss of retinal ganglion cells (RGC). Current therapies are all directed at lowering intraocular pressure (IOP), however, despite IOP lowering, RGC loss still continues in many patients. To improve the visual outcome of patients with glaucoma new treatment strategies are warranted. The identification of an agent that promotes RGC survival to complement IOP lowering would represent a significant treatment advance. Through the screening of over 10,000 compounds, and subsequent generation of structural analogs through medicinal chemistry, we have identified compounds that are highly neuroprotective of cultured primary RGCs. This surprising discovery represents the first description of neuroprotective activity for these agents, one of which is FDA-approved for an unrelated indication. GrayBug has developed a p