# Sustained Treatment of wet AMD

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF IOWA · 2024 · $366,523

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
While anti-VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) therapy has been a watershed for the treatment of wet
AMD (age-related macular degeneration), approximately 50% of patients receiving anti-VEGF therapy exhibit
persistent disease activity, which can include persistent fluid exudation (edema), fibrosis, hemorrhage, and
limited vision recovery. Blocking VEGF only addresses the formation of leaky and new vessels, but not fibrosis.
Reducing fibrosis in concert with blocking leakiness and vessels may preserve vision and stop progression of
neovascular AMD. Our long-term objective is to develop a translatable delivery system for AMD that can
address the multifactorial nature of the disease and can be adjusted remotely via ultrasound for on-demand
treatment as needed. Our objective in this project is to focus on the sustained delivery of two drugs that have
been shown to address two of the critical components of wet AMD: neovascularization and fibrosis. We
propose to deliver acriflavine, a HIF-1alpha inhibitor that prevents neovascularization in the eye, with
pirfenidone, an antifibrotic drug, via a long-term delivery system based on polyurethane nanocapsules that
deliver each drug over a prolonged period of time and can be triggered for on-demand release using
ultrasound. We hypothesize that the controlled, long-term delivery of these two molecules in concert will lead
to better, long-term outcomes including preservation of retinal tissue and visual acuity.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10778489
- **Project number:** 1R01EY035676-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
- **Principal Investigator:** Robert Foster Mullins
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $366,523
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-06-01 → 2028-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10778489

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10778489, Sustained Treatment of wet AMD (1R01EY035676-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10778489. Licensed CC0.

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