The Technology
Topical, systemic, and/or injected corticosteroids are currently the best and most common options available for the treatment of ocular inflammation (uveitis). However, these treatments often cause mild to severe side effects. Cannabidiol (CBD) and other lipophilic cannabinoid molecules have been investigated for a series of human diseases, from cancer to epilepsy, for which systemic administration is required. Intriguingly, CBD has been also proposed for the treatment of glaucoma and more recently, of eye degenerative and inflammatory diseases such as macular degeneration and uveitis. The administration of cannabinoids to the eye has been attempted mainly with eye drops. However, this delivery strategy is of limited efficacy for highly hydrophobic drugs such as CBD and other lipophilic molecules because solubility in the aqueous lachrymal medium is critical to ensure ocular absorption. Moreover, since the residence time of aqueous drops on the eye surface is extremely short owing to lacrimation, the bioavailability of drugs administered using drops is ˂5% of the total administered dose. For instance, most of the drug is washed out by the tears. Finally, the permeability of free drugs across the eye mucosa into more internal layers such as the uvea is very limited due to the very dense corneal epithelium. All these facts highlight the extremely limited value of using Cannabis drops to treat eye disease. Nanotechnologies have revolutionized the treatment of disease though the field still struggles to achieve a proper balance between innovation and scalability and translatability. Nanotechnology has also been extensively investigated to treat eye diseases, where polymeric nanoparticles play a key role. The developed technology focuses on nanoencapsulation of CBD within mucoadhesive polymeric nanocarriers is a much more straightforward and translatable strategy to locally deliver it to the eye. In addition, the platform can enable the nanoencapsulation of a combination of active molecules, that can have synergistic effect in treating eye diseases, including dry eye disease, neuropathic ocular pain and possibly glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy.
Advantages
- Enhanced permeability and efficacy of CBD
Applications and Opportunities
- Treating various eye diseases
Business Development Contacts