(EUROPE)
An Italian biotech has been authorised by the European Commission to market its treatment for a rare eye disorder.
Dompé has been developing the cenegermin eye drops using – DNA technology – for decades. Inspired by the work of Rita Levi Montalcini, who won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for the discovery of the nerve growth factor (NGF), it offers new hope to those with neurotrophic keratitis, an eye disease that can result in loss of vision.
“Neurotrophic keratitis is a rare disease that is particularly debilitating, and until now, has been an unresolved health concern for patients,” said Eugenio Aringhieri, Chief Executive Officer of Dompé Pharmaceuticals. “The next steps will definitely be to make the product available in other areas outside of Europe and in other future indications.”
It is the first approved drug for neurotrophic keratitis, which affects less than five in 10,000 people.
