S'pore institute in $2lm tie-up to develop treatments for eye diseases

Glaucoma, myopia targeted in research collaboration with pharmaceutical firm

- Zhaki Abdullah

The Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI) is expanding its partnership with Japan's Santen Pharmaceutical with a new $21 million research collaboration that aims to develop treatments for vision-threatening eye diseases such as glaucoma and myopia.

The Santen-SERI Open Innovation Center (SONIC) 2.0 is a three-year initiative, which will run from December 2025 to November 2028, combining Santen's pharmaceutical expertise with SERI's clinical and translational research capabilities.

Key research programmes under the collaboration include research and development into novel compounds for treating glaucoma, as well as investigating anti-scarring agents, which can help to prevent vision loss caused by excessive scar tissue due to eye disease and after surgery.

The two will also collaborate on developing improved treatments for myopia.