EyeGate Pharma recognized for drug delivery system

Mountain View, CA

-EyeGate Pharma has received the 2008 North American Frost & Sullivan Ocular Drug Delivery Technology Innovation of the Year Award. The award acknowledges the company’s development of a non-invasive, iontophoretic ocular drug delivery platform (EyeGate II) that transsclerally delivers a broad spectrum of therapeutics for both the anterior and posterior tissues of the eye to address challenges associated with treating serious ocular diseases.

“This award is a great honor to receive from the respected Frost & Sullivan organization,” said Stephen From, president and chief executive officer of EyeGate Pharma. “It is gratifying to see the recognition for our innovation, which is expected to bring significant contributions to both patients afflicted with serious ocular diseases and the physicians who treat them.”

The delivery system discharges a low-voltage electrical current that mobilizes charged therapeutics into and through the cells and tissues of the eye. It uses an electrical current to hydrolyze water, thereby increasing ion mobility so that the charged drug can be delivered in greater concentrations across the sclera to targeted tissues.

“To ensure consistency and accuracy in administered dosages, the [system] is coulomb-controlled, meaning the device is designed to automatically regulate the delivery of each drug unit by maintaining a constant current in the iontophoretic circuit,” said Misty Hughes, Frost & Sullivan research analyst. “Additionally, the [system’s] generator can be programmed to deliver drugs at different rates and doses tailored to a specific patient’s needs.”

The company’s immediate initiatives address the treatment of inflammatory conditions such as uveitis. It recently initiated two phase II clinical studies of the delivery system, focusing on its lead investigatory compound, EGP-437.

“Recently, the research team demonstrated that the system can deliver controlled-release nanoparticles into and through the ocular surface,” said Hughes. “Once drug-load nanoparticle formulations are optimized for delivery and release, they could offer patients non-invasive, single-treatment options lasting months, dramatically changing the paradigm for managing chronic ocular diseases like glaucoma and dry eye.”

The technology can be administered without a needle, which could reduce the incidence of complications such as retinal damage, infection, and other serious visual disturbances associated with ocular injections and implants, according to the company.