Singaporean researchers have discovered that a cancer drug has the ability to treat two main causes of blindness, which are wet macro jumpsuit associated with age and diabetic retinopathy.
The study was conducted by researchers from the A Star Institute for Molecular and Cellular Biology (A*Star IMCB) in Singapore, and the results of the study were published in the Nature Communications magazine last May, and was written by the Yurik Alert website.
In the case of moisturizing macular degeneration associated with age, abnormal blood vessels under the retina grow, and fluids and blood can leak from them, which may lead to swelling and damage.
Patients with wet macular atrophy associated with aging and diabetic retinopathy need a monthly injection inside the glass body in the eye, which is a procedure that involves the risk of infection and the damage of the lens, in addition to that, 45% of patients do not respond sufficiently to these treatments, which highlights the need for alternative treatments.
The drug called BRL 3- Zumab undertook effectively from the blood leakage of damaged blood vessels, which is a major cause of visual loss, showing promising results as a possible new treatment for patients who do not respond well to current limited treatments. BRL 3- Zumab offers a different approach. Unlike current treatments, it can be given intravenously.
In studies conducted on mice, intravenous injection showed a 86% decrease in abnormal blood vessels compared to injections inside the glass body, which may prevent visual loss associated with these diseases.
From cancer research to ophthalmology applications
The research team is currently preparing to conduct experiments on humans after obtaining the approval of the Singapore Health Sciences Authority issued on June 16, 2025, and clinical experiments are expected to start late in 2025, which represents an important achievement in evaluating the capabilities of BRL 3- Zombie as an eye disease treatment in Singapore.
The BRL-3-Zumab has already completed the experiments of the second stage of cancer patients with a positive safety record, which provides useful information for researchers who explore its uses in eye diseases.
Professor Qi Zing, the chief scientist in A Star, identified the BRL3 Proten 3 (PRL3) in 1998 as a major factor in cancer metal, and later studies revealed the sudden role of BRL3 in eye diseases, which opened new prospects for treatment.
“When I discovered the BRL3 protein for the first time more than two decades ago, I never imagined that our cancer research had also provided hope for blind patients,” said Professor Qi Zing, the lead author of the study.