Stopping corneal transplant rejection with BDRK-401 gene therapy
Prevention of corneal transplant rejection using AAV-BDRK-401 therapy
A one-time gene treatment is applied to donor corneas to help people at high risk keep their corneal transplants from being rejected.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Bedrock Therapeutics, INC. NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chapel Hill, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11180103 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you need a cornea transplant, doctors would treat the donor cornea once with a modified virus (AAV) carrying BDRK-401 before surgery to protect it from the recipient's immune system. The treatment is designed to reduce blood vessel growth into the graft and locally suppress immune responses that drive rejection. The team completed Phase I milestones and showed treated corneas were fully protected from acute rejection in rabbit models, and they refined a process that could be used in hospitals. This Phase II effort moves the approach toward use in people and prepares for clinical testing in corneal transplant patients.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are people undergoing high-risk allogeneic corneal transplants, for example those with inflamed or vascularized corneas or prior graft failures.
Not a fit: Patients who do not need a corneal transplant, who are having low‑risk grafts, or who cannot receive AAV-based treatments are unlikely to benefit directly.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could reduce corneal graft rejection and lower the need for prolonged systemic immunosuppression after high-risk transplants.
How similar studies have performed: AAV-based gene therapies have worked for other eye conditions and this approach completely prevented acute rejection in rabbit cornea models, but using AAV-treated donor corneas in humans is novel.
Where this research is happening
Chapel Hill, United States
- Bedrock Therapeutics, INC. — Chapel Hill, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Gilger, Brian C — Bedrock Therapeutics, INC.
- Study coordinator: Gilger, Brian C
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.