Local firm’s drug shows promise

barrier, a semipermeable barrier that separates circulating blood from the brain. Noveome plans to begin a phase 1 clinical safety trial of the medication later this year in collaboration with SipNose, an Israeli medical device maker.

Finding an agent that protects or restores the optic nerve has been the holy grail of ophthalmology for at least a decade, said Richard A. Lewis, a glaucoma researcher and co-founder of Capital City Surgery Center and Sacramento Eye Consultants.

The search included the $100 million research failure of the drug memantine in 2008 by pharmaceutical company Allergan Inc. of Irvine, Calif. Although a second phase 3 clinical trial found that memantine slowed progression of glaucoma, there was no significant benefit to the patient when compared to a placebo.

Part of the difficulty in getting FDA approval is the agency’s requirement that new eye medicines improve vision, Dr. Lewis said.

Still, protecting the optic nerve is an active area of research and much has changed since Allergan stopped the memantine trial a decade ago.

“I think we have more insights to it now,” Dr. Lewis said. “It’s a work in progress, and I think we’re making more progress than ever.”