Stuart Therapeutics announced the publication of a new study in the journal Pharmaceuticals demonstrating therapeutic potential of collagen mimetic peptides (CMPs) in treating ophthalmic disease.1 The study results indicate that the topical application of CMPs, designed to bind to and repair disease- and trauma-damaged collagen, could have a therapeutic effect on ocular diseases in which reduced tissue stiffness and integrity caused by ocular stress is a factor, including myopia.
In this vehicle-controlled animal model study, researchers first measured how stress caused by elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) affects stiffness in the posterior segment; specifically, the collagen-rich peripapillary sclera, which is impacted by ocular stress and is also integral to the eye’s response to it.2 Investigators then assessed whether topical application of a CMP could restore tissue stiffness. Over a 4-week period, the researchers observed a decrease in scleral stiffness that corresponded with an increase in fragmented, or damaged, collagen. During the same period, the application of CMPs to the ocular surface had a concurrently restorative effect on both scleral stiffness and collagen structure.
“Stress-induced reduction in tissue stiffness and collagen damage occur, and facilitate disease progression, in many conditions that involve the peripapillary sclera, including myopia,” said David Calkins, PhD, vice president for research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and lead investigator of the study. “While more research is needed, our results suggest that CMPs, when applied to the ocular surface, could promote the restoration of tissue stiffness and integrity challenged by degraded or remodeled collagen, thus helping the eye maintain its ability to respond to disease-related ocular stress.”
According to Stuart Therapeutics, CMPs are extremely well-tolerated, as demonstrated in the company's recent phase 3 trial of ST-100 for dry eye disease.
References
1. Wareham LK, Ghanem GOB, Clark KL, Schlumpf E, Del Buono BJ, Calkins DJ. Topical application of a collagen mimetic peptide restores peripapillary scleral stiffness reduced by ocular stress. Pharmaceuticals. 2025;18(6):875. doi:10.3390/ph18060875
2. Voorhees AP, Jan NJ, Hua Y, Yang B, Sigal IA. Peripapillary sclera architecture revisited: a tangential fiber model and its biomechanical implications. Acta Biomater. 2018;79:113-122. doi:10.1016/j.actbio.2018.08.020