Our focus on unmet medical needs

We are committed to addressing devastating unmet medical needs for patients with nervous system disorders through our research and development.

Acute Neuronal Injury

Acute Neuronal Injuries such as traumatic vision injury, traumatic brain injury, and ischemic stroke require a prompt and high level of care. Often it requires emergency department visits and neurocritical care. We develop therapies that target to protect neuronal networks by and improve cell survivals from acute damage to improve patient outcomes. 

  • Approximately 55 million eye injuries occur annually around the globe, with 750,000 requiring hospitalizations. In the United States, there are an estimated 2.0 to 2.4 million cases of eye injury every year, resulting in nearly 1 million individuals experiencing injury-induced visual impairment. Moreover, Traumatic brain injury also causes visual impairment in 75% of patients.

  • Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a growing concern, brain damage from unpredictable traumatic events. 

    Each year 27–69 million new TBI patients occur globally. TBI is a major cause of death and disability. There were over 200,000 TBI-related hospitalizations and over 60,000 TBI-related deaths in the US, 2018 and 2019 respectively. About 166 Americans die from TBI-related injuries each day. 5.3 million individuals living with a TBI-related disability in the US. 

    1. CDC 2. Lancet Neurol 2019;18:56-87 3. J Neurosurg 2019;130:1080-1097

  • Ischemic stroke is a common medical emergency, which requires urgent treatment. It is said, “time is brain”. It occurs when a vessel supplying blood to the brain is obstructed. Ischemic stroke accounts for about 87 % of all strokes. 

    Stroke is the second leading cause of disability and death worldwide. Each year about 12 million new patients suffer from stroke globally and about 800,000 people experience a new or recurrent stroke in the US. 2.7 million patients died from ischemic stroke worldwide in 2016. On average, every 40 seconds,  someone in the  US  has a stroke. Every 4 minutes, someone dies of a stroke in the US. 

    Stroke-related costs in the United States came to nearly $46 billion/year. 

    1. CDC 2. Neurology 2021;97:S6-S16

Neurodegenerative Diseases

Neurodegenerative diseases are devastating because they are progressive without a cure, and often fatal. Neurodegeneration disease involves many functions simultaneously such as thinking, eating, walking, or talking, which have tremendous impacts on patients’ and family lives.

  • Huntington’s disease is a rare, fatal progressive genetic disorder that causes uncontrolled movements and cognitive loss. 

    Most people start developing symptoms during adulthood, between the ages of 30 to 50, but HD can also occur in children and young adults (known as juvenile HD or Juvenile HD). HD is known as a family disease because every child of a parent with HD has a 50/50 chance of inheriting the faulty gene. Today, there are approximately 41,000 symptomatic Americans and more than 200,000 at-risk of inheriting the disease. There is currently no cure for Huntington's disease and no way to slow or stop the brain changes it causes.

    1. Alzheimer’s Association website, 2. Huntington’s disease society of America website

  • Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a rare, fatal progressive disorder. It is Characterized by rapid degeneration of motor nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, leading to muscle weakness. Early symptoms of ALS usually include muscle weakness or stiffness. Gradually all voluntary muscles are affected, and individuals lose their strength and the ability to speak, eat, move, and even breathe. Most people with ALS die from respiratory failure, usually within 3 to 5 years from when the symptoms first appear. Currently, there is no cure for ALS and no effective treatment to halt or reverse the progression of the disease.

    1. National Institute of Neurological disorders and stroke website, 2. CDC, 2015

  • Parkinson’s disease is a progressive movement disorder. Parkinson’s disease (PD) occurs when brain cells that make dopamine, a chemical that coordinates movement, stop working or die. Because PD can cause tremor, slowness, stiffness, and walking and balance problems, it is called a “movement disorder.” But constipation, depression, memory problems and other non-movement symptoms also can be part of Parkinson’s. PD is a lifelong and progressive disease, which means that symptoms slowly worsen over time. Estimates suggest that Parkinson’s affects nearly 1 million people in the United States and more than 6 million people worldwide.

    Michael J. Fox Foundation website

  • Alzheimer’s disease is progressive dementia, rapidly growing. Alzheimer's is the most common cause of dementia and accounts for 60-80% of dementia cases. Scientists do not yet fully understand what causes Alzheimer’s disease. There likely is not a single cause but rather several factors that can affect each person differently. In the US, approximately 5.5 million people are affected, and the prevalence worldwide is estimated to be as high as 24 million.

    1. CDC, 2. Alzheimer’s association website, 3. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med. 2012 Aug; 2(8): a006239