World-first treatment to prevent long-term eye damage from mustard gas

Global healthcare company Grifols has partnered with BARDA, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, to develop the first immune therapy eye drops to prevent the long-term effects of exposure to sulfur mustard, commonly called ‘mustard gas.’

Beginning with widespread use during World War I, sulfur mustard has had a long history of use as a chemical warfare agent. It burns the skin, is toxic to living cells and is a powerful vesicant, meaning it causes oozing blisters. And exposure causes particularly nasty short- and long-term effects on the eyes.

Because sulfur mustard reacts with water, the eye’s constant wetness means that they’re more sensitive to the agent than any other organ. Concentration and exposure time determine the degree of short-term visual loss, from simple conjunctivitis (‘pink eye’) for one or two weeks to severe corneal damage with significant vision loss. (The cornea is the clear layer of tissue that covers the front of the eye like a protective window.) However, ocular exposure to sulfur mustard can also produce long-term effects, including recurrent inflammation and erosion of the cornea.

No effective treatment exists for eye damage caused by sulfur mustard. However, Grifols, a global healthcare company and leading manufacturer of plasma-derived medicines, has partnered with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to test its innovative immunotherapy eye drops as a treatment for sulfur mustard exposure.

BARDA’s mission is to develop ‘medical countermeasures’ to address the public health and medical consequences of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear accidents, incidents, and attacks. It does this by providing support to clinical and nonclinical studies.

In March 2023, Grifols announced a collaboration with Selagine, a spin-out company from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) that focuses on novel therapeutics for eye diseases, to develop an ocular surface immunoglobulin (OSIG) eye drop to treat dry eye disease, which is when a person’s tears don’t provide adequate lubrication to the eyes.

Immunoglobulins (Ig), also known as antibodies, are produced by white blood cells. Immunoglobulin therapy is prepared from a pool of antibodies taken from the plasma of thousands of healthy donors. It can be used to stop a person’s immune system from mistakenly attacking their own body (that is, treatment of autoimmune disorders) and suppress harmful inflammation. It’s usually injected into a vein, muscle, or under the skin. The OSIG eye drops developed by Grifols and UIC are currently at the Phase 2 clinical trial stage.

Through their partnership with BARDA, Grifols will investigate, via preclinical studies, how OSIG’s anti-inflammatory properties can be used to stop the immune system from attacking self-antigens, receptors on the surface of cells that tell the immune system that the cell belongs to the body it’s protecting, caused by sulfur mustard exposure. If the drops can do that, they can reduce the likelihood of long-term eye damage.

“Grifols is applying its leadership in immunoglobulins, a powerful class of medicines with a unique mechanism of action, to develop safe, effective and readily available IG-based ocular treatments to alleviate conditions that seriously impact people’s eyesight and quality of life,” said Joerg Schuettrumpf, Grifols’ Chief Scientific Innovation Officer. “We continue to build an innovation pipeline focused on providing more and better treatments for patients.”

While many countries, including the US, have disposed of their stockpiles of mustard agents, accidental exposure is still a concern, considering that some of those stockpiles ended up in the ocean.

Source: Grifols