Chiou, MacuClear Receive $1.7 Million in Funding
As the founding editor of the Journal of Ocular Pharmacology and the director of the Institute of Ocular Pharmacology, Dr. Chiou worked with the TAMU System Office of Technology Commercialization to create MacuClear in August 2006. After six months of fundraising, Dr. Chiou was able to secure $1.7 million from Regent Technology. This funding will finance the formulation of his AMD eye drops, which will then be tested and submitted as an Individual New Drug Application to the Food and Drug Administration. Once the drugs pass FDA regulations, MacuClear can proceed with clinical trials.
AMD is the most common cause of vision loss in humans over the age of 65. Dr. Chiou’s eye drops will increase choroidal blood flow in the eye, which will effectively prevent and reverse damage associated with the progression of AMD.
Dr. Chiou is a member of the five-person Board of Directors for the company, which had its first official meeting on Monday, April 30.
“Our next step is to find a partner who can help us bring our product to the market,” Dr. Chiou says. “This is a very expensive process so we’ll be working with the pharmaceutical industry to make it happen.”
