Phytopharm wins funding for glaucoma study
Research will evaluate Myogane small molecule drug
Phytopharm, a UK development stage pharmaceuticals manufacturer, has been awarded a Technology Strategy Board grant to support the evaluation of Myogane in an in vivo preclinical study of glaucoma.
Myogane, a small molecule drug which has been shown to have good oral bioavailability when dosed once daily in Phase I studies, could potentially be a neuro-protectant treatment for glaucoma, the neurodegenerative disease of the eye that affects 60 million people and is the second leading cause of blindness worldwide.
Current treatments predominantly aim to reduce intra ocular pressure within the eye, but there is a need for treatments that can slow the underlying neurodegenerative disease process, the Huntingdon firm said.
Myogane has demonstrated neuro-protective and neuro-restorative effects in a range of neuronal cell types including retinal ganglion cells, which are the cells affected in glaucoma.
The study, if positive, will support the further clinical development of Myogane in glaucoma.
