# Degradable hydrogel for retinal tamponade (phase 2)

> **NIH NIH R44** · CAMBRIDGE POLYMER GROUP, INC. · 2021 · $296,351

## Abstract

Project Summary
Retinal disorders are a common cause of debilitating vision loss. For many of these conditions,
including retinal detachments and macular holes, the only treatment is surgery. The first step of all
such surgeries is vitrectomy, the process of removing the vitreous gel through tiny ports in the front of
the eye. Each year, 1.1 million vitrectomies are performed globally with 300,000 performed in the US
alone, and in the majority of these cases a retinal tamponade is required to be left in the eye to
maintain pressure on the retina and aid healing. The global retinal tamponade market was recently
valued at USD $64.5 million in 2013 and is predicted to reach USD $77.5 million by 2020.
The current state of the art uses either an expansile gas, or a silicone oil to exert pressure on the
retina during healing (tamponade). However, neither method is ideal and therefore to address these
deficiencies, this phase 2 proposal extends early work we performed on a novel hydrogel that uses
two common synthetic biomedical polymers, namely a modified poly(vinyl alcohol) and poly(ethylene
glycol) in a form that creates a unique hydrogel system that is very low viscosity in liquid form but
then gels through crosslink formation in the eye. This formulation allows for injection through small
surgical ports followed by in vivo expansion resulting in 360-degree retinal tamponade. This unique
formulation will eliminate the need for post-operative patient positioning and will degrade to small
molecules that are readily cleared from the eye over the period of 3-5 weeks providing a temporary
tamponade force before degrading. Data from the Phase 1 supports that the resulting device will be
more patient friendly with almost no refractive issues and the ability for the patient to be fully mobile
and has proven degradation over 2-3 weeks with no inflammatory response, although this
degradation time is also tunable. In this Phase 2 we intend to refine the formulation for improved
performance and validate it within a relevant model to demonstrate efficacy.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10219260
- **Project number:** 5R44EY027635-03
- **Recipient organization:** CAMBRIDGE POLYMER GROUP, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Gavin James Braithwaite
- **Activity code:** R44 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $296,351
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-08-01 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10219260

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10219260, Degradable hydrogel for retinal tamponade (phase 2) (5R44EY027635-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10219260. Licensed CC0.

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