As part of its FY2011 Innovation Promotion Programme, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s Incorporated Administrative Agency, New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) will award a grant to Sosei Group’s subsidiary Activus Pharma for the development of advanced ophthalmic solutions.
Activus Pharma is working on the development of value-added products to resolve the issues faced by current formulations through surface-modified nanoparticle technology and activus pure nano-particle technology (APNT).
To study the prospect of APNT for ophthalmic disease treatment, Activus Pharma has entered into a partnership with Professors, Hideaki Hara and Hifofumi Takeuchi, who serve at Gifu Pharmaceutical University’s Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Engineering Laboratory, respectively.
At present, Activus Pharma is involved in the development of advanced medication for the posterior eye segment disease, including age-related maculopathy and diabetic retinopathy. Posterior eye segment disease is the major source of blindness and other visual defects in middle age. An efficient and user-friendly medication has still not been discovered, and the development of a novel treatment is expected.
Activus Pharma will use the grant for the development of innovative ophthalmic solutions that would be different from the current treatments, since they would be administered to the posterior portion of the eye.. In so doing, the company would assist improving the quality of life of patients suffering from visual impairments. The NEDO grant will subsidize about two-thirds of the development expenditures to be incurred for the project from 23 August 2011 to 28 February 2013.
Source: http://www.sosei.com