Not a dry eye in the house
DRY EYE DISEASE is a common condition affecting an estimated 25 per cent of Canadians.
Medicated eye drops are frequently used to treat dry eye and other ocular conditions, but they have limitations. Drops need to be applied at least twice a day, they burn the eye and can take a long time to work.
A startup called 20/20 OptimEyes has created a better solution. This promising innovation out of McMaster University is an eye drop that sticks to the eye, works faster and is more comfortable to use. As a drug delivery system, it can be combined with new drugs in the future to provide better treatment for patients.
“We’re excited to get something to market that could really make a difference for patients,” says co-founder Frances Lasowski. “That is why we got into engineering in the first place. It’s amazing to see our academic work translate into a real product.”
20/20 OptimEyes started out of the 20/20 Network — a federally funded research network focused on creating solutions for vision loss. Here, the team was inspired to limit the daily struggles of elderly patients with dry eye disease by developing a new kind of eye drop.
The team aims to complete preclinical trials in the next few months. Once the product is market ready, they will work on commercializing it and other technologies being developed in their lab.
To date, 20/20 OptimEyes has raised an impressive amount of funding through investment and local pitch competitions. They attribute their success to the resources available to entrepreneurs in Hamilton.
“This city has been a great home for 20/20 OptimEyes, especially being a part of Innovation Factory and McMaster University,” says Lasowski.
Above all, she is passionate about the exciting work happening in health care and life sciences in Hamilton.
“We hope to see more of these life-changing technologies reach the market. Given the growing focus on health care in Hamilton, this environment is ripe for connecting innovators with the right people at an early stage.”