Monday, December 21, 2009

NEI Awards a Two-Year $2.18 Million SBIR Grant to Aciont®

The National Eye Institute (NEI), a analysis of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), awarded a $2.18 actor admission to Aciont Inc. to advice armamentarium its development of a non-invasive, acquiescent diffusion-based analysis for severe, non-infectious uveitis. Aciont’s Visulex® analysis entails a proprietary aggregate of a contemporary conception and a scleral lens-shaped eye appliance accessory that administers biologic to eye aural 5-10 minutes. Aciont completed plan beneath the affidavit of abstraction appearance of the admission with the abutment of analysis adroitness at the University of Utah’s departments of pharmaceutics and biologic allure and the John A. Moran Eye Center.

The PI of the activity is William I. Higuchi, Aciont’s architect and arch accurate officer. Important Moran Center admiral to the activity are Nick Mamalis—a apple acclaimed able on intraocular lenses, postoperative deepening and ocular pathology; and Albert T. Vitale—a vitreoretinal surgeon and apple acclaimed ascendancy in the analysis and analysis of uveitis and accompanying ocular deepening diseases.

“I anticipate that this artefact has affiance for the analysis of anterior, after and panuveitis patients,” said Dr. Vitale. Uveitis refers to deepening of the average band of the eye bank alleged the uvea. However, the appellation uveitis generally refers to deepening of any of the centralized locations of the eye and it can affect the anterior, average across and after sections of the eye globe. Uveitis is the third arch could cause of amaurosis in the United States. Some appraisal the amount of uveitis patients in North America to be as top as 500,000. Vitale added, “The absolute account will be the accumulation of medication to the aback of the eye for average and after uveitis decidedly that are complicated by macular edema.”

Furthermore, Vitale concluded, “Certainly a transscleral accumulation of biologic would be bigger to intravitreal injection. This in my assessment has absolute potential.” The NEI associate analysis council, which recommended the allotment of Aciont’s project, about agrees with Vitale in principal. The board said that “the development of a non-invasive ocular biologic accumulation arrangement acceptance for a simple and quick appliance of medications for the analysis of uveitis” is “significant back it would acquiesce analysis of this aching and potentially blinding ache in the doctor’s appointment by a assistant or paraprofessional.” The activity declared is accurate by Award Number R44EY014772 from the National Eye Institute. The agreeable of the admission is alone the albatross of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official angle of the National Eye Institute or the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Balbir Brar, who had a cogent role in the development of the admission appliance stated, “Acquiring this NIH admission is a abundant accomplishment and a above anniversary for the Aciont team. Obtaining the NIH admission in a awful aggressive ambiance about is an endorsement by aeon in our acreage of analysis and industry.” Bal Brar, D.V.M., Ph.D, is able-bodied accepted for his success as a drug/device developer; he is a above Vice President at Allergan®, Inc. area he played a above role in the development of a amount of top affairs dermal and ophthalmic drugs such as Alphagan®, Lumigan® for glaucoma, Restasis® for dry eye and a amount of added drugs including Botox®.

According to NIH’s website (http://report.nih.gov/recovery/arragrants.cfm), Aciont is the alone almsman of an SBIR accolade in the State of Utah adjourned by the NIH ARRA affairs in FY 2009. Also, the FY 2009 accolade to Aciont represents the better allotment aggregate to a Utah alignment for any ARRA NIH activity pertaining to the development of a biologic or ameliorative analysis of a disease. Aciont is acceptable for applying for an addendum to this activity beneath NIH’s aggressive face-lifting accolade program.

Aciont Inc. is a specialty biopharmaceutical aggregation ambitious to become the apple baton in commercializing localized, non-invasive (topical acquiescent diffusion-based and iontophoretic), controlled and abiding absolution aback of the eye analysis for afterimage aggressive diseases such as astringent uveitis, diabetic macular edema and age-related macular degeneration. Aciont’s ambition is to accommodate ophthalmologists essentially greater abandon in alleviative and/or preventing abiding eye diseases through optimal biologic dosing and bigger patient/physician compliance. Aciont is amid in Salt Lake City, Utah. For added information, appointment the company’s website at www.aciont.com.

Contact
John Higuchi, CEO
Aciont Inc.
(801) 359-3461
admin@aciont.com

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