MEDILens, a Drug-eluting Intraocular Lens

VisusNano是一家医疗技术初创公司，正在开发一种药物洗脱人工晶状体植入物，用于白内障手术患者。通过改善患者的治疗效果，手术后不再需要滴眼液，我们的技术有可能彻底改变白内障手术。白内障被定义为眼内晶状体混浊，是世界上最常见的致盲原因。唯一的治疗方法是手术。治疗的主要风险是术后炎症引起疼痛，如果不及时治疗，还会导致视力丧失。这可以通过大量滴眼液来预防。在英国，每年有超过40万例人体手术。术后护理需要滴注最多4次/天，持续一个月。如果患者不能自行服用药物，他们的家人就会被要求支持他们的老年亲属，这增加了无薪护理人员的负担。不幸的是，家庭并不总是能提供帮助，因此需要护士的支持，这对NHS（每年5500万英镑）来说成本很高，对已经“举步维艰”的医院眼科服务来说也是一种负担。MEDILens是一种可生物降解的隐形眼镜，它可以释放抗炎药物到眼睛里，在不影响隐形眼镜性能的情况下不需要滴眼液。这项创新受专利保护。Innovate UK的资金将允许我们在人体中测试MEDILens的安全性和有效性，因此在Innovate UK的资助完成后，我们可以开发出一种产品，为人体试验做好准备。MEDILens的增长机会和二级市场是巨大的。由于人口老龄化，人工晶状体市场正在增长，而且MEDILens可以很容易地进行修改，以结合其他药物来治疗不同的疾病。我们公司的成功在于我们多样化的技能组合。我们的团队在药物输送开发、眼科手术、临床试验和项目管理方面拥有专业知识。眼科医生和兽医眼科医生是团队不可或缺的一部分，确保开发的产品适合他们的最终用户。

VisusNano is a medtech start-up company that is developing a drug-eluting intraocular lens implant, for use in patients undergoing cataract surgery. By improving patient outcomes, removing the need for eye drops after surgery, our technology has the potential to revolutionise cataract surgery.Cataract, defined as opacification of the lens within the eye, is the commonest cause of blindness worldwide. The only cure is surgery. The main risk of treatment is postoperative inflammation that causes pain and, if left untreated, visual loss. This can be prevented with an intense administration of eye drops.In the UK, more than 400k surgeries are performed each year in humans. Postoperative care requires drop administration up to 4 times/day for a month. If patients cannot self-administer the drops, family is asked to support their older relatives, adding to the unpaid carer burden. Unfortunately families cannot always help, so nurse's support is needed at a high cost to the NHS (\\\>£55M/year) and burden for a hospital eye service that is already "on its knees".MEDILens is a biodegradable lens that can release anti-inflammatory drugs into the eye, obviating the need for eye drops without compromising the properties of the lens. The innovation is protected by patents.The Innovate UK funding would allow us to test the safety and efficacy of MEDILens in humans, so to develop a product for ready for human trials post innovate UK grant completion. With MEDILens growth opportunities and secondary markets are substantial. Not only the IOL market is growing because of the ageing population, but MEDILens can be easily modified to incorporate other drugs to treat different diseases.Our company's success lies in our diverse skill mix. Our team has expertise in drug delivery development, ophthalmic surgery, clinical trials and project management. An ophthalmologist and a veterinary ophthalmologist are integral to the team and ensure that the developed product is fit for their end-users.