Peter George (President of McMaster University, Honourable Gary Goodyear, (Minister of State (Science and Technology)), Heather Sheardown (Scientific Director of 20/20), Suzanne Fortier (President of NSERC) and David Sweet (MP for Ancaster, Dundas, Flamborough, Westdale).
The 20/20: NSERC Ophthalmic Materials Network (20/20 Network) is part of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) funding announcement made by Federal Minister of State (Science and Technology) Gary Goodyear today at McMaster University in Hamilton. NSERC is providing $5 million to the 20/20 Network over five years through a Strategic Network Grant. Other funding is being provided by industrial and institutional partners, and the Ontario Centres of Excellence, over the same period.
“Providing Canadians with a lifetime of perfect vision is the ultimate goal of the network,” said Heather Sheardown, scientific director of the 20/20 Network and professor of chemical engineering at McMaster University. “It is rather ambitious but by combining different areas of expertise there is a lot of potential for drastically improving treatment of vision loss.”
The 20/20 Network will focus on developing and commercializing new biomaterials, medical devices, and drug delivery devices for treating vision disorders. Some of the products being pursued include: composite and hybrid materials; ocular microgels, microemulsions and triggerable materials for drug release; a drug delivery system that attaches to the back of the eye to eliminate monthly needle injections; and contact lenses that eliminate end-of-day dryness and discomfort.
“The potential for new biomaterials and drug-delivery devices to address vision loss is hugely untapped,” said Keith Gordon, vice president research, CNIB and chair of the Board of Directors of the 20/20 Network. “This is the type of initiative we need to release our research talent in
The 12 researchers in the network are from four Canadian universities:
Industrial partners are: Alimera Sciences, CIBA Vision Corporation, Custom Contact Lenses, Fovea Pharmaceuticals, iCo Therapeutics, Rimon Therapeutics, Siltech Corporation, Take Control Cosmedix, Vista Optics Limited, and Walsh Medical Devices.
It is estimated that 30 to 40 post-doctoral fellows, 35 to 45 graduate students and more than 60 summer students will be trained through the network over the five-year funding period.
“There is a lot of innovative and promising work being done in universities to address disorders of the eye and other conditions,” said Michael May, president, Rimon Therapeutics Ltd. and a member of the board of directors. “This network provides an ideal forum to bring key players together and move solutions into the market as quickly as possible.”
A video and photos follow:
The video shows Scott Fitzpatrick, a PhD student in biomedical engineering at McMaster University, demonstrating the temperature-induced phase transition of a new drug delivery system being developed in the 20/20 NSERC Ophthalmic Materials Network. A temperature-sensitive polymer scaffold is loaded with a model pharmaceutical (blue dye) and injected into an aqueous solution at body temperature. The polymer solution is injected via syringe as a liquid at room temperature and transforms into a gel upon heating to body temperature, thereby entrapping the drug producing a long-lasting, slow release drug delivery system. Upon complete release of the pharmaceutical, the polymer scaffold will safely decompose. Ultimately, the delivery system being developed by this network will allow non-invasive delivery of pharmaceutical agents to the back of the eye to treat a number of retinal degenerative diseases. This delivery system will provide prolonged drug release and decrease current requirement for monthly injections.
The vials contain a gel-like material that is injected into the eye as a liquid infused with medication for treating an eye disease. As it heats to body temperature, the liquid transforms into a gel, which allows for the slow-release of medication over time. From left: liquid polymer with medication gels after injection; medication (represented by a blue dye) is delivered to the eye; after all medication has been released, the gel decomposes naturally. The goal is to reduce the current requirement for monthly injections of medications to less than one injection per year. 20/20 NSERC Ophthalmic Materials Network. (Credit: Ron Scheffler)
Scott Fitzpatrick, PhD student in biomedical engineering at
Working with our industrial partners, 20/20's goals include the development of new drug delivery systems to deliver drugs to the back of the eye. The drug delivery insert shown in this photo was developed by one of our industrial partners, Alimera Sciences, Inc.
20/20’s research includes the development of new materials like the hyaluronic acid gel pictured here. Such gels could be injected as a liquid into the eye to form an intraocular lens when they solidify. In addition to requiring smaller incisions when inserted into the eye, these gels might even perform better than currently used intraocular lenses as they are more malleable.
