WALTHAM, Mass., Aug. 20, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- EyeGate Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: EYEG) a clinical-stage, specialty pharmaceutical company with two proprietary platform technologies for treating diseases and disorders of the eye, today announced that the first patient has been enrolled in its pilot study evaluating the ability of EyeGate’s Ocular Bandage Gel (OBG) to accelerate re-epithelialization of large corneal epithelial defects in patients having undergone photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) surgery.

Barbara Wirostko M.D., Chief Medical Officer of EyeGate, said, “After receiving FDA approval of our IDE application, we are pleased to announce that our pilot study for patients who have undergone PRK surgery has enrolled its first patient at The Eye Institute in Salt Lake City, Utah.” Dr. Wirostko continued, “This study represents a significant step forward for our company as we move towards commercialization of a novel and proprietary crosslinked hyaluronic acid eyedrop and build on a wealth of existing data both in animals and more recently, in humans.”

The PRK pilot study will enroll up to 45 subjects undergoing a bilateral procedure in a reading center masked trial. The trial intends to compare EyeGate OBG to the current standard of care, bandage contact lens (BCL) plus artificial tears. The effectiveness endpoints will be the time to achieve complete wound healing and the percentage of subjects achieving complete wound healing on day 3 as evaluated by a masked reading center using digital photographs of fluorescein stained slit lamp photos.

About EyeGate

EyeGate is a clinical-stage specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing products using its two proprietary platform technologies for treating diseases and disorders of the eye.

EyeGate’s OBG platform is based on a cross-linked thiolated carboxymethyl hyaluronic acid (CMHA-S), a modified form of the natural polymer hyaluronic acid, which is a gel that possesses unique physical and chemical properties such as hydrating and healing when applied to the ocular surface. The ability of CMHA-S to adhere longer to the ocular surface, resist degradation and protect the ocular surface makes it well-suited for treating various ocular surface injuries including surgical trauma.

EGP-437, EyeGate’s other product in clinical trials, incorporates a reformulated topically active corticosteroid, Dexamethasone Phosphate that is delivered into the ocular tissues through EyeGate’s proprietary innovative drug delivery system, the EyeGate II Delivery System.  For more information, please visit www.EyeGatePharma.com .

EyeGate Social Media

EyeGate uses its website (www.EyeGatePharma.com), Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/ EyeGatePharma/), corporate Twitter account (https://twitter.com/EyeGatePharma), and LinkedIn page (https://www.linkedin.com/company/135892/) as channels of distribution of information about EyeGate and its product candidates. Such information may be deemed material information, and EyeGate may use these channels to comply with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Therefore, investors should monitor EyeGate’s website and its social media accounts in addition to following its press releases, SEC filings, public conference calls, and webcasts.  The social media channels that EyeGate intends to use as a means of disclosing the information described above may be updated from time to time as listed on EyeGate’s investor relations website.

Forward-Looking Statements

Some of the statements in this press release are “forward-looking” and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These “forward-looking” statements include statements relating to, among other things, the commercialization efforts and other regulatory or marketing approval efforts pertaining to EyeGate’s products, including EyeGate’s EGP-437 combination product and the EyeGate OBG product, as well as the success thereof, with such approvals or success may not be obtained or achieved on a timely basis or at all. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause results to differ materially from the statements set forth in this press release, including, among other things, certain risk factors described under the heading “Risk Factors” contained in EyeGate’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 2, 2018 or described in EyeGate’s other public filings. EyeGate’s results may also be affected by factors of which EyeGate is not currently aware. The forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release. EyeGate expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to such statements to reflect any change in its expectations with regard thereto or any changes in the events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

Contact Joseph Green / Andrew Gibson Edison Advisors for EyeGate Pharmaceuticals 646-653-7030 / 7719 jgreen@edisongroup.com / agibson@edisongroup.com