eyePoC · Clinical validation of a new diagnostic and monitoring PoC medical device based on quantification of biomarkers in tear fluids to improve the quality of eye health care

Ocular diseases are not only relevant social, sanitary and economic issues, but also a growing market opportunity in an increasingly ageing population. Ophthalmology is a health care area where the availability of easy to use point of care (PoC) medical devices based on biomarkers is fundamental for improving patient vision care, reducing number and frequency of sick leave and disability due to visual problems and for getting a significant reduction of overcrowding of ophthalmology units at health systems. The use of medical devices able to detect and measure biomarkers in human samples in a fast and non-invasive method will allow the easy introduction of these systems at the doctor’s office, thus enabling diagnosis of diseases in an objective manner and accurately monitoring of treatments effectiveness to be introduced into the standard clinical protocols.The present project is aimed to the clinical validation and market introduction of a device previously developed for ocular surface diseases (OSDs), named Tear Monitor and focused on diagnosis and monitoring of the Dry Eye and inflammation by measuring biomarkers in tears. For this purpose, two European SMEs specialised on ophthalmology establish a collaborative partnership to joint their respective expertises in a complementary synergism to reach the objectives proposed. Horus Pharma, a French pharmaceutical company, specialised on production, distribution and sales of pharmaceutical and biotech products for eye therapy and diagnostic; and Bioftalmik, a Spanish company specialised on biomarker discovery and development of medical devices for ophthalmology applications.This project is crucial for the economic growth and international expansion of both companies and constitutes the base for strategic development in the immediate future.