Dr Livia Carvalho
An exciting new collaboration between researchers at the Lions Eye Institute and Curtin University is poised to deliver a breakthrough treatment for inherited retinal diseases.
Dr Livia Carvalho, head of the Retinal Genomics and Therapy group at the Lions Eye Institute, and her team have joined forces with Associate Professor Hani Al-Salami from Curtin University. The partnership combines Dr Carvalho’s expertise in retinal treatment development with Associate Professor Al-Salami’s pioneering knowledge of nanocapsules. Together they will work to develop a new way of delivering vital medicines into the eye. This research has been made possible with funding from the National Foundation for Medical Research and Innovation, and our supporters.
Associate Professor Hani Al-Salami
In a person with retinitis pigmentosa, loss of vision is caused by the death of rod and cone photoreceptor cells in the retina. Dr Carvalho’s team were the first in the world to test a particular drug that can prevent the cone cells from dying. “Research published by my team in 2022 showed that cone cell death, which contributes to central vision loss in different types of inherited blindness, can be halted by continuous release of a drug called GSK-J4,” said Dr Carvalho.
“GSK-J4 is delivered via injection, however, to be effective it would need to be injected into the eye every two weeks and this is not viable as a treatment for patients due to the increased risk of complications,” she said. “The nanocapsule technology developed by Associate Professor Al-Salami’s team is very exciting as it could offer a new way to provide long-term sustained delivery of treatments into the eye. By joining forces, we aim to develop a treatment we hope can prolong vision for patients suffering from inherited retinal diseases for as long as possible.”
If successful, next steps for the team would be to take the ground-breaking treatment to clinical trials.
Thanks to the National Foundation for Medical Research and Innovation and our loyal supporters for continuing to support our research. Without you, many research projects would be unable to continue.
What is a nanocapsule?
A nanocapsule is a tiny sphere that can carry medicine via injection to a specific location within the body. Roughly 200 times smaller than the width of a human hair, nanocapsules can be tailored to ensure the medicine they carry is released in a controlled manner, allowing it to last longer.
