Disease Focus
We are committed to developing next-generation treatments for individuals suffering from corneal neuropathic pain and dry eye disease. Our aim is to create innovative therapies that not only alleviate ocular pain but also address the limitations of current dry eye treatments by offering a novel approach to controlling inflammation.
Innovative Approach for Inflammatory Eye Diseases
Neuropathic Corneal Pain (NCP)
- NCP, a severe, chronic, and debilitating disease for which there are no approved commercial treatments currently available.
- Current treatments are limited to short term NSAIDs, steroids, and opioids in severe cases. Side effects and the risk of addiction to opioids is a serious concern
- Often underdiagnosed, as the symptoms can overlap with other eye conditions, and treatment can be difficult to manage effectively.
- ChemR23 receptor on leukocytes targeted by urcosimod is also expressed on neurons and glial cells in the dorsal root ganglion and spinal cord
- Topical administration of urcosimod was effective in suppressing corneal pain in a ciliary nerve ligation mouse model of NCP similar to that of gabapentin, a commonly used oral drug for neuropathic pain, given by intraperitoneal injection.
- The pain-relieving potential of urcosimod is very important because a considerable number of dry eye patients with chronic inflammation also suffer from ocular pain.
Dry Eye Disease
- Worldwide, ~700,000,000 patients suffer from dry eye disease. In US, ~30,000,000 patients suffer from dry eye disease
- Dry Eye affects over 35% of the population aged 50+, with women representing approximately two-thirds of those affected.
- Prevalence of dry eye is expected to increase substantially due to an aging population and increased use of contact lenses and digital screen time.
- Several side effects and modest efficacy of currently available drugs demand new therapies to treat dry eye disease
- Dry eye syndrome represents a major economic burden to public healthcare, accounting for more than $55 billion to the US economy annually. Global dry eye disease market to reach $7.7 Billion by 2025
- In an experimental dry eye animal model, urcosimod demonstrated a dramatic reduction of dry eye-induced corneal permeability, normalized dry eye induced goblet cell loss and reduced infiltration of CD4+ T-cells.
Non-infectious Anterior Uveitis
- Uveitis is the third leading cause of blindness worldwide. The most common type of uveitis is an inflammation of the iris called iritis (anterior uveitis). Uveitis can damage vital eye tissue, leading to permanent vision loss.
- Uveitis is currently treated with corticosteroid eyedrops and injections that reduce inflammation, (2018 annual revenue in US was > $500M). However, the long-term use of corticosteroids causes risk of cataract and glaucoma, requiring close monitoring for their potential side effects.
- In an animal model, our lead drug candidate OK-101 was effective in suppressing ocular inflammation by downregulating key inflammatory biomarkers CD4+ T cells.
- Our focus is to suppress the inflammation and pain associated with the uveitis using our lead drug candidate OK-101.
Allergic Conjunctivitis
- Allergic conjunctivitis, often called ‘pink eye’ is an inflammation of conjunctiva, caused by an allergic reaction to pollen, mold, smoke, dust etc.
- Up to 40% of the global population suffers from allergic conjunctivitis, which is mostly treated with antihistamines and corticosteroids (2018 annual revenue in US was > $1 Billion). Notably, a significant number of patients do not respond to antihistamines which typically leads to overuse of corticosteroids in these patients.
- In an animal model, OKYO’s lead drug candidate OK-101 was effective in suppressing ocular inflammation by downregulating key inflammatory CD4+ T cells. Additional studies are ongoing to determine the efficacy of OK-101 in diminishing ocular redness, the most common symptom of allergic conjunctivitis.