Warning: This product has not been approved or cleared for marketing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and is considered an investigational device.
Click here

Our Focus

Chronic Ocular Surface Pain

  • The cornea is one of the most densely innervated tissues in the body, making chronic ocular surface pain (COSP) a significant source of discomfort¹
  • COSP may be acute or chronic and can result from inflammation, infection, trauma, or nerve dysfunction, and is commonly described as burning, irritation, dryness, or grittiness²˒³
  • It frequently overlaps with dry eye disease (DED)²˒⁴˒⁵ and affects nearly 30% of the population, with women experiencing a higher prevalence and greater symptom severity²˒⁶
  • Despite its impact on quality of life, effective long-term treatments for COSP are limited, and current systemic or topical pain therapies are constrained by safety and efficacy concerns⁷–¹⁶
  • No FDA-approved treatments currently exist for COSP

Learn more about COSP

 

  1. Müller LJ, Marfurt CF, Kruse F, Tervo TMT. Corneal nerves: Structure, contents and function. Exp Eye Res. 2003;76(5):521-542.

  2. Mehra D, Cohen NK, Galor A. Ocular surface pain: A narrative review. Ophthalmol Ther. 2020;9(3):1-21.

  3. Rosenthal P, Borsook D. Ocular neuropathic pain. Br J Ophthalmol. 2016;100(1):128-134.

  4. Galor A, Levitt RC, Felix ER, Sarantopoulos CD. Understanding the true burden of dry eye disease. Expert Rev Ophthalmol. 2015;10(5):403-405.

  5. Galor A, Covington D, Levitt AE, et al. Neuropathic ocular pain due to dry eye is associated with multiple comorbid chronic pain syndromes. J Pain. 2016;17(3):310-318.

  6. McDonald M, Patel DA, Keith MS, Snedecor SJ. Economic and humanistic burden of dry eye disease in Europe, North America, and Asia: A systematic literature review. Ocul Surf. 2016;14(2):144-167.

  7. Goyal S, Hamrah P. Understanding neuropathic corneal pain—Gaps and current therapeutic approaches. Semin Ophthalmol. 2016;31(1-2):59-70.

  8. Iftinca M, Defaye M, Altier C. TRPV1-targeted drugs in development for human pain conditions. Drugs. 2021;81(1):7-27.

  9. Pereira VB, Garcia R, Torricelli AA, Bechara SJ. Opioids for ocular pain—A narrative review. Pain Physician. 2017;20(5):429-436.

  10. Brilakis HS, Deutsch TA. Topical tetracaine with bandage soft contact lens pain control after photorefractive keratectomy. J Refract Surg. 2000;16(4):444-447.

  11. Faktorovich EG, Melwani K. Efficacy and safety of pain relief medications after photorefractive keratectomy: Review of prospective randomized trials. J Cataract Refract Surg. 2014;40(10):1716-1730.

  12. Kuhnle MD, Ryan DS, Coe CD, et al. Oral gabapentin for photorefractive keratectomy pain. J Cataract Refract Surg. 2011;37(2):364-369.

  13. McGee HT, Fraunfelder FW. Toxicities of topical ophthalmic anesthetics. Expert Opin Drug Saf. 2007;6(6):637-640.

  14. Aragona P, Tripodi G, Spinella R, Lagan E, Ferreri G. The effects of the topical administration of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs on corneal epithelium and corneal sensitivity in normal subjects. Eye. 2000;14(2):206-210.

  15. Tomas-Barberan S, Fagerholm P. Influence of topical treatment on epithelial wound healing and pain in the early postoperative period following photorefractive keratectomy. Acta Ophthalmol Scand. 1999;77(2):135-138.

  16. Flach AJ. Corneal melts associated with topically applied nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Trans Am Ophthalmol Soc. 2001;99:205-210.