Yuyu Pharmaceutical’s phase 2 clinical trial of YP-P10, a xerophthalmia treatment, is proceeding smoothly in the U.S. by completing its first patient registration, the company said Thursday.

The clinical trial, which received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in April, is to evaluate the safety, drug tolerance, and efficacy of YP-P10 on 240 xerophthalmia patients in seven U.S. hospitals.

YP-P10, a novel drug that uses synthetic peptide, demonstrated excellent anti-inflammatory potential and cornea epithelial cell healing effect compared to the existing drug in the previous clinical trial and aims to treat xerophthalmia through anti-inflammatory and wound healing.

YP-P10 proved more effective than Lifitegrast, an existing xerophthalmia treatment, in lowering inflammatory cytokine and chemokine production in human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMC) when vitalized through Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in previous clinical trials.

It also reduced inflammatory mediators and improved corneal damage through additional research on animals. According to the company, this clinical result shows that YP-P10 has an anti-inflammatory effect, similar to that of Corticosteroid, on xerophthalmia.

“Yuyu aims to provide effective treatment for xerophthalmia patients through successful completion of YP-P10 clinical trial" CEO Yu Won-sang said.

Francis Mah, an ophthalmology professor at Scripps Memorial Hospital, said, “Xerophthalmia is an illness that requires an advanced treatment for ophthalmologists and patients although diverse treatment methods already exist.”

Professor Mah added that new treatment options effective in immunomodulation are receiving attention lately, and there is much anticipation for the phase 2 clinical trial results of YP-P10.

The prevalence rate of xerophthalmia varies from 5 percent to 50 percent of the population and appears in women more than men.