TheiaNova Limited

Maintaining eye health is important at any age and stage. Here are some key symptoms and signs of keratoconus (KC) to monitor for: 😵💫Blurred or distorted vision 🚦Increased sensitivity to bright light and glare (e.g., find driving at night hard with the bright street and car lights?) 👓 A need for frequent changes in eyeglass prescriptions ☁️Sudden worsening or clouding of vision 👁️Soft contact lenses no longer fit well on the eye 🔺Shape of the cornea becoming less spherical and more cone-shaped 🤕Eyestrain and headaches Many of the signs and symptoms of KC cross-over with other eye-conditions, and quite often, symptoms won't be obvious in the early stages. Regular eye-checks and general health check-ups are the best way to get early diagnosis. #themoreyouknow #theianova #keratoconus #eyehealth #explainer #askyourdoctor

Maintaining eye health is important at any age and stage. Here are some key symptoms and signs of keratoconus (KC) to monitor for: 😵💫Blurred or distorted vision 🚦Increased sensitivity to bright light and glare (e.g., find driving at night hard with the bright street and car lights?) 👓 A need for frequent changes in eyeglass prescriptions ☁️Sudden worsening or clouding of vision 👁️Soft contact lenses no longer fit well on the eye 🔺Shape of the cornea becoming less spherical and more cone-shaped 🤕Eyestrain and headaches Many of the signs and symptoms of KC cross-over with other eye-conditions, and quite often, symptoms won't be obvious in the early stages. Regular eye-checks and general health check-ups are the best way to get early diagnosis. #themoreyouknow #theianova #keratoconus #eyehealth #explainer #askyourdoctor

You may have never heard the word but, #keratoconus (pronounced ker-uh-toe-ko-nus) is an eye condition that affects millions of people around the world. It causes the cornea (the outermost layer of the eye) to thin and gradually bulge outwards into a cone shape. Think of a balloon with a weakness in one particular spot – this area will bulge outwards more than the rest of the balloon. As severity of the condition increases, so too does the appearance of the cornea. Keratoconus can cause blurry, distorted vision, sensitivity to light and glare, and in severe cases can lead to visual impairment to the point of legal blindness. So, how do you know if you're at risk of developing keratoconus? While the causes of keratoconus are not yet clear, studies have suggested that high risk factors include: 1️⃣ Family history. 2️⃣ Prolonged eye-rubbing from allergies such as hay-fever and asthma weakens the cornea and potentially leads to keratoconus. 3️⃣ The presence of genetic disorders including #DownsSyndrome, and connective tissue disorders such as #EhlersDanlos, and #Marfans, syndromes. 4️⃣ Māori, Pasifika, Indian, African-American, and Middle Eastern ethnicities have a greater prevalence of the disease. Regular visits to the optometrist and liaising with your GP 🩺 are the best way to maintain eye health and identify keratoconus. Learn about keratoconus in this informational video by UCI Health Gavin Herbert Eye Institute 👇 #themoreyouknow #theianova #keratoconus #eyehealth #explainer #askyourdoctor

TheiaNova is creating a novel eyedrop treatment for patients living with keratoconus - here's how it works 👇 🌏 Our world first solution combines human growth factor TGF-B3 and low-dose steroid dexamethasone to develop a painless and non-invasive treatment targeting keratoconus. 👁️ The treatment, a patented eyedrop, aims to regenerate collagen in the cornea over a twice daily, three-week application period. 💪The treatment is expected to rebuild the collagen matrix in the cornea that has broken down due to keratoconus.  🔗 By regenerating the lost collagen in the cornea, our treatment has the potential to restore the cornea's structural integrity and rigidity.  There are millions of people living with KC world-wide, and a group of ophthalmologists and optometrists here in NZ at the bottom of the globe are working to change their lives forever.  Important: TheiaNova's products are not yet approved for clinical use in any jurisdiction. #keratoconus #ophthalmology #optometry #eyedrops #pharma #startup 

We are excited to announce that our startup has been selected as one of three finalists in Eyecelerator’s Winning Pitch Challenge, preceding #ASCRS2024! TheiaNova Limited’s CEO, Carissa Fonseca, PhD will pitch our unique therapy for #keratoconus and similar corneal disorders - live in Boston - to an audience of esteemed ophthalmologists, industry experts, and investors. We’re proud to be part of an impressive list of finalists and innovations this year, and look forward to all the insights from what promises to be a high energy meeting! #BIOTechNZ #ophthalmics #cornealectasia #ophthalmology #NZStartups UniServices Callaghan Innovation Bridgewest Ventures NZ

Thanks, Bridgewest Ventures NZ and Datacom for the opportunity to pitch at Impact Innovation #II24 Great lineup of sessions! Our team enjoyed speaking with fellow #NZdeeptech founders, and both local and foreign, seasoned entrepreneurs and investors

Congratulations to all the other Venture Spotlight winners! Looking forward to meeting up at Impactful Innovation ‘24 and to the opportunity to present our company, and solution for ectatic corneal disorders such as #keratoconus

“Don’t rub your eyes”, mothers have often said to their children. As with most things, they were right 😳 Amongst several factors, frequent and severe eye-rubbing may lead to #keratoconus via physical damage to the cornea (the front surface of the eye). The exact cause of KC is still unknown, but known risk factors include: - family history - having asthma and hay-fever (also associated with eye-rubbing!) - the presence of certain genetic disorders including #DownsSyndrome, and connective tissue disorders such as #EhlersDanlos, and #Marfans, syndromes - a possible genetic component given that some ethnicities have a greater prevalence of the disease (e.g. African-American, Asian and Middle Eastern people ) In New Zealand, Māori and Pasifika seem to be disproportionately afflicted with KC, in relation to the general population (link to paper in comments).

For most people, the first time they hear the word ‘#keratoconus’ is at their own, or a friend or family member’s, diagnosis.  At TheiaNova Limited we are on a mission to develop a treatment for KC. In doing so, we hope to shine a bit more light on this not-much-talked-about, relatively-unknown-to-the-general-population, corneal condition. Follow us, as we discuss causes, diagnoses, current clinical management and more over the next few posts, and check our comments for links to further resources. #cornea #optometry #ophthalmology #biotech #startups

📣 We are very happy and excited to announce that Priyanka Agarwal has joined TheiaNova as our Research and Operations Manager! 🎉 Priyanka brings a wealth of commercial pharma R&D experience and academic expertise in ocular drug development, which will be instrumental in helping us bring our novel solution for #keratoconus and other corneal disorders to market and ultimately to the patients who need them most. Welcome, Priyanka! #keratoconus #cornea #BioTechNZ #NZpharma #optometry #ophthalmology 👀