LayerBio Awarded $1.2 Million from NIH to Develop Sustained-Release Glaucoma Drug

LayerBio, Inc., an early-stage biotechnology company based in Medford, MA, announces receipt of a Phase 2 SBIR grant from the National Eye Institute at the National Institutes of Health to develop its sustained-release glaucoma drug.

MEDFORD, Mass. (PRWEB) May 08, 2018 -- Founded in 2013 as a spin-off from the lab of Dr. Paula Hammond at MIT, LayerBio is developing novel drug delivery products for ophthalmology, wound care, tendon repair and other unmet medical needs.

The National Eye Institute at the National Institutes of Health awarded LayerBio a $1.2 million small business grant to develop its sustained-release formulation of the glaucoma drug travoprost.

Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. In the United States, an estimated 2.2 million people suffer from glaucoma. The typical first-line treatment for glaucoma is a topical eye drops. In many cases, lack of continuous dosing and issues with patient compliance limit the effectiveness of topical eye drops for preventing progression of glaucoma.

“Sustained-release formulations offer an important alternative to eye drops, because they provide around-the-clock coverage for patients suffering for glaucoma,” said Dr. Ken Mandell, LayerBio’s Founder and CEO. “They also overcome the issue of dosing noncompliance, a common problem among glaucoma patients” added Dr. Mandell.

LayerBio's sustained-release glaucoma formulation based on its PolyNet™ platform, a novel network polymer-based drug delivery technology invented at LayerBio by Dr. Mandell and his co-founder Aleks White.

"LayerBio's drug delivery technology offers potential to improve the standard-of-care for patients with glaucoma by overcoming issues with noncompliance and provided continuous drug release inside the eye," added Dr. Barbara Wirostko, glaucoma expert and member of LayerBio's scientific advisory board.