HanAll Biopharma has presented the phase 2 clinical trial for HL036, a dry eye treatment, at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) held in Vancouver, Canada.

HL036, also known as Tanfanercept, is a new biological drug that can treat dry eye syndrome which causes eye surface damage, irritation and foreign body sensation caused by the lack of tears or excessive evaporation. It has a new mechanism of inhibiting TNFα that causes inflammation in the eye.

The phase 2 clinical trial, participated in by 150 U.S. patients with dry eye syndrome, confirmed that HL036 quickly improved both eye dryness and subjective symptoms before and after exposure to the arid environment. Also, the treatment managed to improve symptoms such as burning, stinging and pain.

“Tanfanercept showed improved signs and symptoms within eight weeks of dosing and showed a level of comfort similar to that of artificial tears,” said Ahn Hye-kyung, HanAll Biopharma’s bioresearch center. “The result was four weeks faster than the existing approved therapies.”

With the company starting phase 3 trial for the drug last month, HanAll expects that the treatment will become an innovative new drug in the dry eye treatment market, which is in high demand for unmet medical needs, Ahn added.

According to the company, dry eye syndrome market, which is currently worth 4 trillion won ($3.4 billion), will grow to 7 trillion won by 2027 due to aging, smartphone overuse, and fine dust.