OC-01 (Varenicline Solution) Nasal Spray for the Treatment of Dry Eye Disease Signs and Symptoms in Subjects with Autoimmune Disease: Integrated Data from ONSET-1 and ONSET-2

Nose-to-brain delivery of nanotherapeutics: Transport mechanisms and applications

The blood-brain barrier presents a key limitation to the administration of therapeutic molecules for the treatment of brain disease. While drugs administered orally or intravenously must cross this barrier to reach brain targets, the unique anatomical structure of the olfactory system provides a route to deliver drugs directly to the brain. Entering the brain via receptor, carrier, and adsorption-mediated transcytosis in the nasal olfactory and trigeminal regions has the potential to increase drug delivery. In this review, we introduce the physiological and anatomical structures of the nasal cavity, and summarize the possible modes of transport and the relevant receptors and carriers in the nose-to-brain pathway. Additionally, we provide examples of nanotherapeutics developed for intranasal drug delivery to the brain. Further development of nanoparticles that can be applied to intranasal delivery systems promises to improve drug efficacy and reduce drug resistance and adverse effects by increasing molecular access to the brain. This article is categorized under: Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Nanomedicine for Neurological Disease.

Efficacy of bilateral OC-01 (varenicline solution) nasal spray in alleviating signs and symptoms of dry eye disease: A systematic review

PURPOSE

To comprehensively review the efficacy and safety of OC-01 varenicline nasal spray versus vehicle nasal spray (VNS) in the treatment in dry eye disease (DED).

METHODS

A systematic review that included full-length randomized controlled studies (RCTs), as well as post hoc analyses of RCTs reporting new findings on OC-01 VNS treatment in three databases, PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science, was performed according to the PRISMA statement. The search period included studies published between December 2021 and September 2023. The Cochrane risk of bias tool was used to analyze the quality of the studies selected.

RESULTS

A total of 8 studies were included in this systematic review. OC-01 VNS treatment achieved higher improvement than vehicle in all reported variables. The mean differences between both groups were in favor of OC-01 VNS treatment and were as follow: eye dryness score base on a visual analogue scale (EDS-VAS) of -7.5 ± 2.2 points [-11.6 to -5.6], Schirmer test (ST) with anesthesia of 6.6 ± 2.3 mm [4.9 to 11.8] and total corneal fluorescein staining (tCFS) of -1.2 ± 0.01 points [-1.2 to -1.1]. Similar improvements were reported with OC-01 VNS 0.03 mg and 0.06 mg. Adverse events (AEs) were 15.5 ± 19.4 % [-13 to 80.5] higher in the OC-01 VNS group with an overall adherence > 93 %.

CONCLUSIONS

OC-01 VNS improves dry eye symptoms and signs with a satisfactory tolerability. Therefore, OC-01 VNS seems to be a safe and effective treatment that could be recommended in patients with DED. This new treatment could be particularly useful in those patients who have difficulties with the administration of traditional topical therapies.