Ocular therapeutics start-up wins VentureLaunch Award
OcuHealth, an emerging eye therapeutics start-up, was named overall winner of University College Dublin’s (UCD) VentureLaunch Accelerator Programme for 2025. The joint UCD and South East Technological University (SETU) project received €700,000 through the Enterprise Ireland Commercialisation Fund and is already being supported by technology transfer offices at SETU and NovaUCD.
The company is developing novel formulations to treat eye disease in the form of a daily eyedrop that can deliver conventional small molecules and large biomolecules, in a slow and sustained manner, to all parts of the eye, substantially improving on current treatment options.
While OcuHealth’s platform technology could be used to treat many different eye diseases, its initial target is dry eye disease, a common condition involving pain, inflammation and irritation at the surface of the eye.
Affected patients report a massive impact on quality of life with the condition affecting their work productivity, mental health, sleep and relationships. They find it difficult to find relief with current medications and there is a considerable burden associated with having to put in eye drops multiple times a day.
To address this issue OcuHealth has developed a patented Sustained Microemulsion release Technology (SMrT) to allow greater delivery of hydrophobic and hydrophilic drugs, small molecules and monoclonal antibodies to the front of the eye, over an extended period, significantly increasing drug absorption, compared to typical drug suspension. The delivery technology is based on the healthy fats found at the surface of cells, also improves the tear film leading to a healthier eye.
As proof-of-concept to treat dry eye disease, OcuHealth combined its SMrT eyedrop formulation with an existing steroid drug. Preclinical trials have demonstrated that a single eye drop specifically targets the eye, is rapidly absorbed and slowly releases the drug over 12 hours into front and back of the eye, reducing known disease biomarkers. The drug stays in the eye, not spilling into the circulatory system and is a considerable improvement on competitors’ products.
The members of the team are, Dr Alison Reynolds, Assistant Professor, UCD School of Veterinary Medicine and a fellow of the UCD Conway Institute, who completed the VentureLaunch Programme; Dr Laurence Fitzhenry, Head of Faculty, Science and Computing (Waterford) and Principal Investigator of the Ocular Therapeutics Research Group, SETU; Dr Muhammad Sarfraz, Department of Science, SETU; and commercial lead, John Lynch.
Dr Reynolds said: “OcuHealth is focused on developing new ways of delivering therapeutics to the eye in a sustained manner which will benefit patients and clinicians. We are excited to explore how our platform technology can be used to improve current treatment options and look forward to future opportunities to partner with pharmaceutical companies in the eye therapeutics space.”
The main objective of the UCD VentureLaunch Accelerator Programme is to equip participants with the knowledge, skills and understanding that is required to work as part of a team leading a new commercial venture and to develop a commercially viable business plan. The programme consisted of eight workshops delivered over the last two months at NovaUCD. Workshops consisted of a mix of taught content and interactive sessions delivered by external experts as well as involving talks from entrepreneurs. Participants also gained expert mentoring on marketing, finance and funding, sales and pitching to investors.
Liam Cronin, director of innovation, UCD said, “Our focus through the UCD VentureLaunch Accelerator Programme is to support members of our research and entrepreneurial communities who want to accelerate the creation of exciting new start-ups for the global stage. I wish OcuHealth, and all the participants on this year’s programme, every commercial success not only here in Ireland but on the global stage, in the years ahead. The team at NovaUCD is looking forward to continuing to work with OcuHealth and all this year’s participants to support them to achieve their global ambitions.”
The other participants on this year’s VentureLaunch Accelerator programme in addition to OcuHealth were; Eurvista, Genshield-AI, GreenWatch, MicroJect, NAX Bioscience and SelekTx.
TechCentral Reporters
Subscribers 0
Fans 0
Followers 0
Followers