New Eye Drop Therapy For Dry Age Related Macular Degeneration: Study Finds - Video

The research team from the Natural Product Drug Development Center at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology has developed a new therapeutic agent for dry Age-related macular degeneration that can be administered as eye drops. The findings are present in the journal advanced science.

Age-related macular degeneration is the leading cause of vision loss in individuals over 65, characterized by abnormal changes in the macular, resulting in reduced vision and distorted objects. The only FDA-approved treatments for dry Age-related macular degeneration as of 2023 are two injectable drugs, which are limited by concerns over complications from intravitreal injections and modest efficacy in restoring vision.

To address the limitations of injection-based treatments, the research team focused on the inflammatory signaling pathway of Toll-like receptors, which are known to play a critical role in Age-related macular degeneration pathogenesis. By extracting peptide sequences from tens of thousands of proteins with structures similar to natural Toll-like receptors signaling proteins, they established an extensive library of over 190,000 peptide drug candidates. Utilizing advanced technology for rapidly screening peptides that specifically bind to Toll-like receptors signaling proteins, they successfully identified multiple candidate peptides capable of inhibiting interactions between these proteins.

The researchers validated the therapeutic efficacy of the peptides by administering them as eye drops to mice with induced dry Age-related macular degeneration. The treated group exhibited retinal cell protection and significantly reduced retinal degeneration, comparable to normal mice. This demonstrated that peptide-based eye drops could effectively replace existing injectable therapies for dry Age-related macular degeneration.

This new therapeutic agent, delivered in eye drop form, offers enhanced treatment convenience and adherence for patients while reducing complications and costs associated with repetitive invasive treatments. Furthermore, the non-invasive and safe nature of the therapy provides a novel treatment option that improves both efficacy and patient satisfaction.

Reference: Y. Lim, T. K. Kang, M. I. Kim, D. Kim, J. Y. Kim, S. H. Jung, K. Park, W.-B. Lee, M.-H. Seo, Massively Parallel Screening of Toll/Interleukin-1 Receptor (TIR)-Derived Peptides Reveals Multiple Toll-Like Receptors (TLRs)-Targeting Immunomodulatory Peptides. Adv. Sci. 2024, 2406018. https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202406018