PharmaDrug has generated data showing that DMT-analogues could provide a new treatment for primary open angle glaucoma.
Could analogues of DMT help treat glaucoma – the most common eye disease? Glaucoma can cause irreversible vision loss in patients due to fluid build-up, which causes elevated pressure in the eye leading to optic nerve damage and vision loss.
According to the World Health Organization the disease is the second leading cause of blindness across the globe.
Current treatments
There are currently approved treatments for primary open angle glaucoma, but they can often cause irritable side effects such as redness and stinging, and require multiple applications a day, leading to poor rates of use.
There are different serotonin receptors within the regions of the eye that regulate fluids, and previous research has demonstrated that the topical application of several different tryptamines could hold promise for the treatment of elevated pressure.
Tryptamines, including DMT-analogues are thought to work in a completely distinct way to these traditional treatments – acting on different serotonin receptors including 5-HT1A and 5-HT2A.
Investigating DMT-analogues
PharmaDrug has recently announced encouraging potency data for two undisclosed tryptamines, which it says could act as a potential therapeutic solution in treating glaucoma.
CSO of PharmaDrug, Paul Van Slyke, commented: “Despite the availability of several approved medications, irreversible vision loss related to elevated intraocular pressure remains a significant risk for patients suffering from glaucoma.
“We are excited to announce that our recently generated data demonstrates that the concept of using select DMT-analogues to activate protective pathways within critical cellular compartments of the eye may provide significant utility in treating elevated interocular pressure.
“The next few months will be vital in further characterising relative drug potency, selecting a single lead candidate to take forward and fabricating a novel medical device capable of delivering constant and sustained levels of drug to the anterior portion of the eye.
“The following research phase will focus on investigative new drug (IND) enabling efficacy studies using a well-accepted animal model of primary open angle glaucoma.”
The company has said the analogues could be used alone, or in combination with already approved medications, and that it intends to use its current results in combination with upcoming studies to select its final candidate.
It will also be carrying out in vivo efficacy testing in an accepted model of primary open angle glaucoma to enable the filing of an IND application with the FDA to conduct clinical studies.
Creating an innovative delivery device
PharmaDrug is teaming up with the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation (TIBI) to produce a medical device to deliver the tryptamine-based pharmaceutical to the front of the eye.
The company has said it aims to develop suitable prototype medical devices capable of sustained delivery while also maintaining efficacy, biocompatibility and stability of its candidate molecules.
The research programme includes the full establishment and demonstration of candidate molecule loading capacity as well as release rate evaluations of conjugated materials using appropriate models that will be used to support its IND application.
So far, the partnership has initiated the making of a drug-loaded prototype medical device. Studies, including biocompatibility are currently underway to evaluate drug release.
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