Solutions for the Eye

SNK-125 ocular hydrogel is made of the natural polysaccharide hyaluronan – a component of the native vitreous humor – crosslinked with polyethylene glycol using stable chemistry. Created in https://BioRender.com.

Synakis has developed a novel hydrogel biomaterial, SNK-125, specifically designed for ocular delivery. SNK-125 is injectable, biocompatible, biodegradable, non-swelling and transparent. SNK-125 is made of the natural polysaccharide hyaluronan, which is then crosslinked using stable chemistry. We are developing SNK-125 as a vitreous substitute for retinal surgery and to deliver engineered therapeutics to treat leading causes of blindness.

What is our Technology Used For?

SNK-125: Vitreous Substitute for Retinal Detachment Surgery

During retinal surgery, the native vitreous humor is removed to access and repair the retina. At the end of the surgery, a substitute material (gas or silicone oil) is injected to ensure the retina remains attached during recovery. Created in https://BioRender.com.

The Problem: Various retinal conditions, including retinal detachment, require a vitrectomy: surgical removal of the vitreous humor to access and repair the retina. The vitreous is then replaced with a substitute material to ensure the retina stays attached during recovery. Current clinical substitutes—gases and silicone oils—cause significant discomfort during patient recovery, including blurred vision, extensive head posturing, risk of glaucoma, and follow-up surgeries. As a result, patients are precluded from work, leisure activities, and air travel for several weeks or longer. There is a significant unmet need for a new biomimetic vitreous substitute to improve patient recovery following retinal surgery.


Our Solution: Synakis’ novel biomaterial SNK-125 is a promising alternative to the suboptimal materials currently used in the clinic. SNK-125 is injectable, transparent, biocompatible, biodegradable, non-swelling, and fully compatible with current vitreoretinal surgical procedures. SNK-125 will allow patients recovering from retinal surgery to see clearly and avoid extensive head posturing, conferring a comfortable recovery and quick return to normal life.



Synakis’ biomimetic hydrogel SNK-125 is injectable, biocompatible, non-swelling, and transparent. SNK-125 is an ideal alternative to gases and silicone oils as a vitreous substitute for retinal surgery. Created in https://BioRender.com.

“Our technology will be transformative for patients.”
— Dr. Robert Devenyi, Ophthalmologist & Vitreoretinal Surgeon, CMO & Co-Founder of Synakis

SNK-225: Front-of-the-eye Delivery of Long-Acting Drug Formulations for Glaucoma

SNK-225: prodrug formulations are embedded in Synakis’ ocular hydrogel and administered to the subconjunctival space for long-acting delivery to the eye. Created in https://BioRender.com. Adapted from Dang et al. Adv. Mater. 2025, 37, 2419306, https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202419306. © 2025 The Author(s). Advanced Materials published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.

The Problem: Treatment of glaucoma requires administration of therapeutic eye drops daily, or intracameral implants that require invasive injections.

Our Solution: Synakis has developed SNK-225: our novel biomaterial loaded with with a prodrug formulation to deliver a long-acting treatment for glaucoma. Non-invasive administration of SNK-225 into the subconjunctival space provides a prolonged delivery of small molecule therapeutics which obviate the need for daily eye drops or intracameral injections.

Intravitreal Delivery of Stabilized Biologic Therapeutics

The Problem: Use of biologic therapeutics to treat retinal degenerative diseases is hindered by rapid biologic degeneration and poor pharmacokinetics. Frequent intravitreal injections are required to achieve a therapeutic effect.

Our Solution: Synakis has combined our novel biomaterial with state-of-the-art protein engineering techniques to stabilize biologic therapeutics and mediate their extended delivery to the back of the eye, providing enhanced bioavailability and a prolonged therapeutic window to reduce the frequency of injections.

SNK-325: Synakis’ ocular hydrogel is combined with protein engineering to deliver stabilized biologics to the back of the eye. Created in https://BioRender.com.

The science behind our technology has been published in the peer-reviewed literature and is patented

Publications

  • Dang, M. et al. (2025) Colloid-Forming Prodrug-Hydrogel Composite Prolongs Lower Intraocular Pressure in Rodent Eyes after Subconjunctival Injection. Advanced Materials, 37, 2419306. https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202419306

  • Baker, A.E.G. et al. (2021) Stable oxime-crosslinked hyaluronan-based hydrogel as a biomimetic vitreous substitute. Biomaterials, 271, 120750. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2021.120750

  • Baker, A.E.G. et al. (2019) Benchmarking to the Gold Standard: Hyaluronan-Oxime Hydrogels Recapitulate Xenograft Models with In Vitro Breast Cancer Spheroid Culture. Advanced Materials, 31, 1901166. http://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201901166

Book Chapters

Patents

  • Shoichet, M.S., Dang, M. (2024) Formulations for delivery of a colloidal prodrug to lower intraocular pressure (IOP) for a prolonged time.

  • Shoichet, M.S., Baker, A.E.G., Tam, R.Y. (2020) Hydrogel compositions and uses thereof. WO2021000050A1

  • Shoichet, M.S., Ganesh, A.N., Donders, E.N., Shoichet, B.K., Torosyan, H. (2020) Stable colloidal drug aggregates and methods of manufacture and use thereof. WO2020252581A1

  • Shoichet, M.S., Vulic, K. (2012) Affinity-based controlled release system. US9498539B2