With new grant funding, a local biotech startup has set its eyes on giving sight back to patients suffering from degenerative eye diseases.
Bedford-based Nanoscope Technologies announced receiving a $2 million multi-year Small Business Innovation Research Award from the National Institutes of Health’s National Eye Institute. And with the grant, Nanoscope plans to advance its therapeutic gene and delivery platform.
"Through laser delivery, we have now overcome the limitation on size of the therapeutic genes that can be delivered", said Subrata Batabyal, co-investigator of the grant, in a prepared statement.
Nanoscope, launched by President and Chief Scientific Officer Samarendra Mohanty, is researching and developing the use of light and lasers to insert therapeutic genes into a patient’s eye in order to help improve vison lost to diseases like dry, age-related macular degeneration.
The company says its low-power, near-infrared laser helps to cut down on the possibility of inflammation and immune-responses, which is common in other treatments. The laser is also being used as a possible way to deliver genes created to vaccinate against Covid-19, the Fort Worth Business Press reports.
“Our optogenetic platform and laser delivery technologies are synergistic and will allow treatment for both fully and partially-degenerated retina,” Mohanty said.
The new grant brings Nanoscope’s total funding to at least $6 million, after receiving two grants worth $4 million from the National Eye Institute and the U.S. Health and Human Services Department – being one of the first for-profit companies to receive such grants. In addition to eye-related gene therapies, Nanoscope was using that funding to also look at cancer treatments.
Nanoscope was launched in 2009 by Mohanty. The company is part of nonprofit startup incubator TechFW. It was also named as a finalist in technology invention by Tech Titans in 2017.
“We discover the needs of researchers today and develop products that are multi-modal allowing researchers the capability to see, measure, functionalize and evaluate tissues" said Madhu Rao, VP of sales and marketing at Nanoscope Instruments – a subsidiary of Nanoscope Technologies.
