Research news: Regenerx / TB4

Not quite "new" news - Regenerx were granted a US patent back in September, but honestly this is the first time it's come onto my radar screen. Everybody and his uncle seems to be in dry eye drug research these days.

Here's a November 5 newsblurb about it.

Reversing LASIK dry eye... now that's a pretty ambitious claim. But, I wish them every success. Sigh.

Late last week, Regenerx Pharmaceuticals (RGN) was awarded a patent in China for its Thymosin beta 4 (TB4) investigational products for the indications of reversing or inhibiting eye degeneration associated with dry eye syndrome. This includes dry eye that is caused by surgical eye procedures such as LASIK and PRK.

TB4 is a synthetic copy of a naturally occurring molecule that is identical across all species. It is a key regulator of actin, which is responsible for cell movement (for example, into a wound). Researchers from the Department of Biology, Shangdong University and the Peking Union Medical College in Beijing are verifying the therapeutic importance of TB4. To move the compound toward commercialization, Regenerx is conducting clinical trials of TB4 for dermal, ophthalmic and internal indications, but none of the trials is being carried out in China. The U.S. granted a patent for TB4 in September.