Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 17, 2025
Slow-release Drug Delivery through Elvax 40W to the Rat Retina: Implications for the Treatment of Chronic Conditions
Published on: September 17, 2014
Engineered peptide-drug conjugate provides sustained protection of retinal ganglion cells with topical administration
Henry T Hsueh1, Renee Ti Chou2, Usha Rai3
1Center for Nanomedicine at the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Abstract:
Effective eye drop delivery systems for treating diseases of the posterior segment have yet to be clinically validated. Further, adherence to eye drop regimens is often problematic due to the difficulty and inconvenience of repetitive dosing. Here, we describe a strategy for topically dosing a peptide-drug conjugate to achieve effective and sustained therapeutic sunitinib concentrations to protect retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in a rat model of optic nerve injury. We combined two promising delivery technologies, namely, a hypotonic gel-forming eye drop delivery system, and an engineered melanin binding and cell-penetrating peptide that sustains intraocular drug residence time. We found that once daily topical dosing of HR97-SunitiGel provided up to 2 weeks of neuroprotection after the last dose, effectively doubling the therapeutic window observed with SunitiGel. For chronic ocular diseases affecting the posterior segment, the convenience of an eye drop combined with intermittent dosing frequency could result in greater patient adherence, and thus, improved disease management.
