University of Iowa researchers receive NIH funding to advance potential antioxidant eye treatment

University of Iowa researchers received federal funding from the NIH to advance an antioxidant-based technology that may eventually lead to new eye drop treatments for dry eye disease, Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy, and other conditions involving oxidative stress.

The funding facilitated formation of S5G Therapeutics Inc., a startup company based on technology developed at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, to help move their research on the antioxidant ubiquinol from the laboratory to patients.

According to the press release issued by the University of Iowa, S5G recently received a 6-month Small Business Innovation Research award of over $313,000 from the NIH and $50,000 in matching support expected through BioConnect Iowa. The funding will help the research team further develop a Fuchs-specific delivery system designed to increase uptake of ubiquinol in corneal endothelial cells.

The individuals involved in this endeavor include University of Iowa researchers Mark Greiner, MD; Jessica Skeie, PhD; Christine Sindt, OD, FAAO; Aliasger Salem, PhD; Greg Schmidt, MBA, CEBT; and former UI graduate student Sanjib Saha, PhD.

"This is public-private partnership at its finest," Greiner said. He is Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Science at the university.

The research path

The team initially set out with a different goal, ie, to identify a better way to preserve donor corneas before transplantation.

The antioxidant of special interest was ubiquinol, because when compared with other antioxidants evaluated, ubiquinol made a “striking difference like night and day,” Skeie described, when it was added to the storage solution.

The team’s research has shown its potential to reduce oxidative stress and maintain the health and function of corneal endothelial cells that line the inner corneal surface and do not normally regenerate, they explained.

One significant obstacle was getting ubiquinol into a form easily deliverable into the eye. In conjunction with Salem and colleagues at the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy, the team developed an aqueous delivery system for ubiquinol. This step served as a breakthrough beyond preserving donor tissue, according to the investigators.

Sindt helped researchers recognize the potential for delivering the antioxidant directly to patients’ eyes in eye drop form. The researchers began exploring whether a soluble antioxidant could protect the ocular surface from oxidative stress. That work led to potential applications including dry eye disease, Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy, and other corneal conditions.

The ultimate goal is to turn a discovery made while studying donated corneas in an Iowa laboratory into something patients can eventually use.