Grant: Collaborative Health Research Projects (NSERC partnered)

Going blind is a top fear of most people. Corneal blindness occurs when the transparent front of the eye loses it clarity due to injury or disease. We have developed a "Liquid Cornea", which is basically a new way to repair corneas. Instead of relying on transplantation with donor tissues, which are in severe short supply with Canadian in some provinces waiting 2-3 years for surgery, we propose to fill perforated corneas or corneas needing replacement of the front tissues by anterior lamellar grafting, with a biomaterials-based formulation made from collagen-like peptides. However, to make it practical for clinical use, we have to develop a syringe-like delivery system that would allow the surgeon to mix up the formulation and apply within minutes. Also, for patients with severe disease/damage, we need to block the inflammation and scarring in order to restore vision. Our research strategy is to incorporate an anti-scarring drug that is already successfully tested in clinical trials by our partner Birch Biomed into our Liquid Cornea and deliver this through our Rapid Reconstitution Delivery Device (R2D2) and test it in mini-pigs using optical equipment developed with our partner, WinTerra Global. Successful completion of this project will allow us to apply for regulatory approval for a first-in-human clinical trial. The use of the Liquid Cornea instead of current donor tissue transplants will potentially allow for treatment of a significant proportion of the current 12.7 million patients still awaiting cornea transplantation due to the donor tissue shortfall. The R2D2 system will potentially allow for treatment of ulcers or perforations in ophthalmologists' clinics instead of an operating room that is needed for donor transplantation, resulting in faster healing time for patients and healthcare savings.