EYE-D researchers find a fresh focus on personalised treatments for eye disease
Over 224,000 Irish people and 40 million people worldwide are affected by severe vision loss. This number of people continues to increase, largely due to our ageing population. Up to 80% of all eye diseases worldwide are preventable, however, patients continue to lose their sight due to the limited drugs currently on the market. One key reason for a lack of efficient drugs is that the underlying molecular causes of these conditions are still not fully understood. EYE-D is focused on understanding the root molecular causes of these diseases and to rapidly develop the next generation of therapies.
EYE-D, launched in October 2021 and funded under the Research Ireland Strategic Partnership Programme, brings together a consortium of leading university experts from Trinity College Dublin (TCD), industry partners (Roche and Disarm/Eli Lilly), a private eye clinic (Progressive Vision Research) and a patient-led charity (Fighting Blindness Ireland), with the aim of tackling some of the most pressing challenges and needs in the ophthalmic disease space.
EYE-D is hosted by TCD, with the consortium comprising of co-funding partners Progressive Vision Research, Fighting Blindness Ireland, Roche, and Disarm Therapeutics.
Prof Matthew Campbell and Prof Sarah Doyle from Trinity College Dublin. Image: Jason Clarke
Academic partner Prof Matthew Campbell, TCD states:
The involvement of a patient-led charity partner such as Fighting Blindness Ireland is critical in exposing trainees to the realities and impact their research can have in the real world. It also allows us as researchers to co-design our projects with the patients’ needs front and centre of any research output, whether clinical or pre-clinical.
Progressive Vision Research is a private eye clinic based in Dublin and provides clinical and optometry support. The partnership has allowed clinical research to be carried out in a private ophthalmology clinic setting. Speaking on the collaboration, Dr Aideen Curtin, CEO, Progressive Vision Research, said: “Progressive Vision Research are delighted to be involved in the EYE-D project in collaboration with TCD. Patients are the focus of the Progressive Vision Clinic and it is exciting to be able to give them the opportunity to get involved with cutting edge research activities.”
Roche, a global healthcare company with its ophthalmology arm focused on pioneering therapies to prevent vision loss, support the EYE-D research programme to understand novel mechanisms behind retinal degeneration in age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Dr Peter Westenskow, Discovery Ophthalmology, Roche, said: “Partnering with TCD through the Research Ireland Strategic Partnership Programme has given my group the exciting opportunity to partner with CNS vasculature experts to conduct exploratory projects that we hope will identify novel targets and biomarkers. These types of studies will inform future therapies to prevent vision loss in patients with diverse retinopathies.”
Fighting Blindness Ireland, a patient-led charity with a vision to cure blindness and support people living with sight loss, funds two projects in the research programme and has allowed for the procurement of a state-of-the-art microscope that has expedited scanning of retinal samples. They also ensure that the results of our research are conveyed in a patient-centric manner to those with sight-threatening diseases. Finbarr Roche from Fighting Blindness Ireland said: “Fighting Blindness Ireland are excited to support the involvement of patients in ongoing clinical research, bringing us closer to identifying treatments for conditions of sight loss.”
Disarm Therapeutics is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company and is involved in supporting the exploration of neurodegenerative mechanisms by providing their proprietary inhibitors to prevent common pathologies in a range of ocular diseases. Liza Leventhal, Executive Director, Disarm/Eli Lilly, said: “This collaboration has been a great partnership in helping Eli Lilly to expand the potential for SARM1 therapeutics. The Doyle lab had published foundational scientific research on the role of SARM1 and its therapeutic potential in both age-related macular degeneration and inherited retinopathy retinitis pigmentosa. This collaboration has enabled Eli Lilly to capitalize on the lab’s expertise and translate the lab’s earlier findings into a therapeutic strategy by testing SARM1 ASOs in mouse models of retinal degeneration. Over the past year we have met bimonthly to discuss data and assess progress toward the grants objectives. The collaboration has made great progress with high quality data and is on track to accomplish our objectives.”
Key research areas in EYE-D will focus on early causative factors that drive AMD, developing a new therapy for open-angle glaucoma, and basic mechanisms of retinal degeneration.