NIH Grant to Support Research on MediBeacon Fluorescent Tracer Agent Use in Ocular Angiography
(SAINT LOUIS, MO, August 8, 2016) – MediBeacon announced today that it is the recipient of a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant supported by the National Eye Institute (NEI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under Award Number R43EY027207. With this support, the Company will pursue research into the use of a MediBeacon fluorescent tracer agent to visualize vasculature in the eye.
The focus of the NIH supported project is to determine if a MediBeacon tracer agent has the potential to provide additional clinical value versus the existing standard of care. Among the potential advantages of MediBeacon’s fluorescent tracer agent are its photo-physical and chemical stability properties.
Diseases that affect the eye vasculature include diabetic and hypertensive retinopathy, as well as age-related macular degeneration. The current NIH supported project is specifically focused on visualization of eye vasculature abnormalities that are the result of these disease states.
Richard Dorshow, PhD, MediBeacon’s co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer, said: “This NIH support will enable MediBeacon to pursue important proof-of-concept research on the use of MediBeacon tracer agents for fluorescence ocular angiography in humans.”
Congress established the NEI in 1968 to protect and prolong the vision of the American people. NEI research leads to sight-saving treatments, reduces visual impairment and blindness, and improves the quality of life for people of all ages.
About MediBeacon Inc.
MediBeacon’s mission is to commercialize biocompatible optical diagnostic agents for physiological monitoring, surgical guidance, and imaging of pathological disease in the human population. Several product concepts in these arenas are contained in the MediBeacon Intellectual Property estate. MediBeacon’s portfolio includes a renal function system that uses an optical skin sensor combined with a proprietary fluorescent tracer agent that glows in the presence of light. This system, currently in human trials, provides clinicians continuous real-time monitoring of a patient’s kidney function.
Learn more about MediBeacon at zh-hk.medibeacon.com.
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CONTACT:
Steve Hanley
MediBeacon Inc.
Office - 314-269-5808
Email - hanley@medibeacon.com
zh-hk.medibeacon.com
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