iVeena Delivery Systems, Inc., has been awarded a $2 million phase 2 Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Eye Institute, according to a press release. The funding will support further development of the company's preservative-free investigational topical eye drop designed to strengthen corneal and scleral crosslinking to slow the progression of pediatric myopia. 

Specifically, the research will investigate disease mechanisms that underly myopia progression and evaluate the potential of iVeena’s eye drop, which aims to avoid dilation and anticholinergic side effects.

The project is being led by Sarah Molokhia, PhD, vice president of Research & Development at iVeena and adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Molecular Pharmaceutics at the University of Utah. OM