NovaUCD has today announced OcuHealth, an emerging eye therapeutics start-up, as the overall winner of University College Dublin’s (UCD) 2025 VentureLaunch Accelerator Programme, which is focused on supporting the creation and launch of new start-ups emerging from UCD.
OcuHealth is developing novel formulations to treat eye disease. OcuHealth’s groundbreaking “once a day” eye drop can deliver conventional small molecules and large biomolecules, in a slow and sustained manner, to all parts of the eye, substantially improving on current treatment options.
While OcuHealth’s platform technology could be used to treat many different eye diseases, its initial target is dry eye disease.
Dry eye disease is a common condition involving pain, inflammation and irritation at the surface of the eye. Patients report a massive impact on quality of life with the condition affecting their work productivity, mental health, sleep and relationships. They find it difficult to find relief with current medications and there is a considerable burden associated with having to put in eye drops multiple times a day.
Eye drops are the preferred form of delivery to the eye, with over 90% of ophthalmic drugs available in drop formulations. However, drops are quickly washed away by the eye, due to blinking and tearing, resulting in limited absorption (1–5%) as the drug is not in contact with the ocular surface for very long. This means that drops need to be administered frequently throughout the day and higher doses need to be delivered to get sufficient drug absorbed in a short window.
To address this issue OcuHealth has developed a patented Sustained Microemulsion release Technology (SMrT) to allow greater delivery of hydrophobic and hydrophilic drugs, small molecules and monoclonal antibodies to the front of the eye, over an extended period, significantly increasing drug absorption, compared to typical drug suspension. The delivery technology, based on the healthy fats you find at the surface of cells, also improves the tear film leading to a healthier eye.
As proof-of-concept to treat dry eye disease, OcuHealth combined its SMrT eyedrop formulation with an existing steroid drug. Preclinical trials have demonstrated that a single eye drop specifically targets the eye, is rapidly absorbed and slowly releases the drug over 12 hours into front and back of the eye, reducing known disease biomarkers. The drug stays in the eye, not spilling into the circulatory system and is a considerable improvement on competitors’ products.
OcuHealth, a joint UCD and South East Technological University (SETU) project, has received €700k in funding through the Enterprise Ireland Commercialisation Fund, and is being supported by technology transfer offices at SETU and NovaUCD.
The members of the team are, Dr Alison Reynolds, Assistant Professor, UCD School of Veterinary Medicine and a fellow of the UCD Conway Institute, who completed the VentureLaunch Programme, Dr Laurence Fitzhenry, Head of Faculty, Science and Computing (Waterford) and Principal Investigator of the Ocular Therapeutics Research Group, SETU, Dr Muhammad Sarfraz, Department of Science, SETU and commercial lead, John Lynch.
Dr Alison Reynolds, UCD School of Veterinary Medicine, said, “We are absolutely delighted to have been named the overall winner of the 2025 UCD VentureLaunch Accelerator Programme. OcuHealth is focused on developing new ways of delivering therapeutics to the eye in a sustained manner which will benefit patients and clinicians. We are excited to explore how our platform technology can be used to improve current treatment options and look forward to future opportunities to partner with pharmaceutical companies in the eye therapeutics space.”
She added, “I would like to acknowledge the excellent support provided by NovaUCD, the VentureLaunch programme facilitators, and particularly the other VentureLaunch participants, especially for their invaluable feedback and advice received throughout the programme.”
Dr Laurence Fitzhenry, Head of Faculty, Science and Computing (Waterford), SETU, said, "Following the completion of our Enterprise Ireland Commercialisation Fund project next year, we will spin out OcuHealth which will mark an important milestone for our research teams as we move from laboratory development towards real-world impact. We will be seeking to raise €3.5 million in funding to progress our patented nanoformulations to first-in-human trials in 2028. It’s an exciting moment for us as founders as we work to bring new, patient-focused ocular therapies closer to clinical reality.”
He added, “I would like to thank the other members of the OcuHealth team at SETU, Dr Niall O'Reilly, Dr Sweta Rani, Professor Peter McLoughlin and Dr Orla O'Donovan, for their research expertise and ongoing dedication to this exciting project. I would like to acknowledge and thank Enterprise Ireland for its ongoing support and also acknowledge the funding support received through SSPC, Research Ireland Centre for Pharmaceuticals, and the excellent support we are receiving through the SETU and NovaUCD knowledge transfer teams.”
The main objective of the UCD VentureLaunch Accelerator Programme is to equip participants with the knowledge, skills and understanding that is required to work as part of a team leading a new commercial venture and to develop a commercially viable business plan.
The programme consisted of eight (8) workshops delivered over the last two months at NovaUCD. Workshops consisted of a mix of taught content and interactive sessions delivered by external experts as well as involving talks from entrepreneurs. Participants also gained expert mentoring on marketing, finance and funding, sales and pitching to investors.
Liam Cronin, Director of Innovation, UCD said, "Our focus through the UCD VentureLaunch Accelerator Programme is to support members of our research and entrepreneurial communities who want to accelerate the creation of exciting new start-ups for the global stage. I wish OcuHealth, and all the participants on this year's programme, every commercial success not only here in Ireland but on the global stage, in the years ahead. The team at NovaUCD is looking forward to continuing to work with OcuHealth and all this year’s participants to support them to achieve their global ambitions.”
Dr Diarmuid O'Brien, CEO, Taighde Éireann – Research Ireland was the guest speaker at the 2025 UCD VentureLaunch Accelerator Programme Showcase and Awards event and took part in a ‘’fire side’ chat with Liam Cronin, UCD Director of Innovation.
The 2025 UCD VentureLaunch Accelerator Programme judging panel, which selected the overall winner following pitches by the seven finalists, was chaired by Conor O’Sullivan, Atlantic Bridge. The other members of the panel were, Amy Neal, Delta Partners; Conor Mills, ACT; Niamh Sterling, HBAN and David Bowles, The Yield Lab.
The other participants on this year’s VentureLaunch Accelerator programme in addition to OcuHealth were; Eurvista, Genshield-AI, GreenWatch, MicroJect, NAX Bioscience and SelekTx.