Eyegate doses first patient in trial of new ocular delivery system

USA-based EyeGate Pharmaceuticals, a privately-held specialty pharmaceutical company, has dosed the first patient in a Phase II proof-of-concept study of the EyeGate II ocular drug delivery system.

The multicenter, randomized, double-masked Phase II trial of the company's non-invasive EyeGate II delivery system and EGP-437, a formulation of a common corticosteroid, is the first US study under an open Investigational New Drug approval to employ iontophoresis technology to deliver an active compound into the eye, according to the company. It will recruit up to 40 patients with non-infectious acute anterior segment uveitis to assess the safety, tolerability and efficacy of four transscleral iontophoretic doses of EGP-437 delivered via EyeGate II.

Stephen From, teh firm's chief executive, said: "the EyeGate II delivery system represents a fundamental advance in non-invasive ocular drug delivery, and EyeGate Pharma is accelerating the commercialization of this novel technology as a potential alternative to current ocular delivery methods."