WIPO China: Mexican Nano-Based Drug Delivery System Set to Boost Global Eye Health
本文原载于2023年第4期《WIPO杂志》。作者为产权组织信息和数字外联司Catherine Jewell。
The article was originally published in the issue 1/2024 of WIPO Magazine. The author is Catherine Jewell, Information and Digital Outreach Division, WIPO.
全世界有数十亿人患有某种形式的视力障碍或失明。世卫组织将CRMQ专门针对的老年性黄斑变性（AMD）和糖尿病视网膜病变（DR）列为导致视力障碍和失明的三大主要原因之一。（图：Motortion / iStock / Getty Images Plus）
Billions of people worldwide suffer from some form of vision impairment or blindness. The WHO puts age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic retinopathy (DR), in which CRMQ specializes, among the top three leading causes of vision impairment and blindness. (Photo: Motortion / iStock / Getty Images Plus)
专门从事视网膜疾病研究的墨西哥CRMQ公司（视网膜医疗和视网膜手术中心）开发了一种开创性的纳米技术视网膜给药平台，为世界上一些最常见的眼病提供了更方便、更经济的治疗方法。CRMQ创始人兼总经理Arturo Santos和法律顾问Enrique Santos最近接受了《WIPO杂志》的采访，解释了这项创新为何在与不可逆转的失明的抗击中如此重要。CRMQ是2023年产权组织全球奖的七位获奖者之一。
CRMQ (Centro de Retina Medica y Quirúrigca) in Mexico, which specializes in retinal diseases, has developed a groundbreaking nanotechnology platform for retinal drug delivery offering a more amenable and affordable treatment for some of the world’s most common eye diseases. CRMQ’s founder and General Director, Arturo Santos, and its Legal Counsel, Enrique Santos, recently met with WIPO Magazine to explain why this innovation is so important in the battle against irreversible blindness. CRMQ is one of the seven winners of the WIPO Global Awards 2023.
《WIPO杂志》：CRMQ何时成立？为什么要成立这家公司？
WM: When was CRMQ established and why?
Arturo Santos：在我小时候，我的弟弟遭遇了一场严重的自行车事故，最终失去了一只眼睛。这对我们所有人来说都是一次痛苦的经历。那时我就知道，我想成为一名眼科医生。我是一名内科医生、眼科医生和视网膜外科医生。1996年完成医学学业后，我创办了CRMQ，这是一家专门治疗视网膜问题的眼科医疗机构；大多数影响视网膜的疾病都会导致不可逆转的失明。我们采用跨学科方法，对视网膜进行应用研究，以解决所认定的需求。
Arturo Santos: When I was a child, my younger brother suffered a nasty cycling accident and ended up losing his eye. This was a painful experience for all concerned. I knew then that I wanted to become an eye doctor. I am a physician, an ophthalmologist and a retinal surgeon. After completing my medical studies in 1996, I set up CRMQ, a specialist eye-care provider for retinal problems; most conditions that affect the retina produce irreversible blindness. We use an interdisciplinary approach to do applied research on the retina to solve identified needs.
请介绍一下你们基于纳米技术的视网膜给药平台，以及它具有突破性意义的原因。
Tell us about your nanotechnology-based retinal drug delivery platform and why it’s groundbreaking.
Enrique Santos：我们的平台是眼科治疗领域的一项重大突破，将对社会和经济产生巨大影响，因为它能够减少视力残疾的发生率。它提供了一种将药物送入眼内的新方法，用于治疗糖尿病视网膜病变（导致中度但致残性视力丧失）和湿性老年性黄斑变性。在传统治疗方法中，患者必须每月到诊所接受眼部注射。这是一种令人不适的体验。
Enrique Santos: Our platform is a major breakthrough in ophthalmic therapeutics and will have a huge impact on society and the economy in terms of reducing visual disability in the population. It offers a new method of delivering medicine into the eye to treat diabetic retinopathy, which causes moderate but disabling vision loss, and wet age-related macular degeneration. With conventional treatment, patients have to go to the clinic every month to receive an injection into their effected eye. This is not a comfortable experience.
我们的纳米技术平台使我们能够将活性剂（蛋白质、抗体、类固醇或其他药物）封装在脂质体中，然后作为一种简单的眼药水使用。这种方式在经过一段时间后可以达到与注射相同的浓度。此外，我们的眼药水所能达到的治疗浓度也远远超过普通眼药水，因为普通眼药水的活性剂含量不到5%，其中只有约3%能进入眼睛。
Our nanotechnology platform allows us to encapsulate an active agent (proteins, antibodies, steroids, or other drugs) in a liposome and administer it as a simple eye drop. In this way, we can achieve concentrations, which over time, are equivalent to those achieved by an injection. Also, the therapeutic concentrations we can achieve with our eye drops far exceed those of regular eye drops where the active agent is less than 5%, of which only around 3% gets into the eye.
我们目前正在墨西哥完成监管程序，预计我们的首个产品将在几周内完成注册。该平台的另一大优势是可以生产用于治疗不同眼部疾病的多种产品。我们的平台是眼科治疗领域的一项重大突破，将对社会和经济产生巨大影响，因为它能够减少视力残疾的发生率。
We’re currently completing the regulatory process in Mexico and expect to have our first product registered within weeks. Another great advantage of the platform is that it can generate multiple products to treat a range of eye conditions. Our platform is a major breakthrough in ophthalmic therapeutics and will have a huge economic and social impact in terms of reducing visual disability in the population.
CRMQ的纳米技术平台只需滴一滴眼药水，就能达到与注射相当的治疗浓度。这种易用性意味着更多的人可以确保眼部健康。（图：evrim ertik / Getty Images）
CRMQ’s nanotechnology platform makes it possible to achieve, with a simple eye drop, therapeutic concentrations equivalent to those achieved by an injection. Such ease of use means more people will have access to eye health. ( Photo: evrim ertik / Getty Images)
知识产权如何支持你们抗击视力丧失？
How are IP rights supporting your drive to battle vision loss?
Enrique Santos：我们的知识产权使我们能够吸引最优秀的研究人员来开发我们的平台并将其商业化。知识产权是我们在医疗领域建立战略合作伙伴关系（公司、高校、政府机构）的主要工具。例如，通过知识产权，我们与美国OPKO Health公司建立了稳固的合作关系。在与制药公司谈判时，知识产权也是一个重要的筹码。对方是强悍的对手，如果没有完善的知识产权战略，你会溃不成军。我们需要结成这些联盟来推动我们的研究，找到治疗眼病的新技术和更好的技术，并将它们迅速推向市场，从而产生我们想要的影响。如果没有知识产权，这些都不可能实现。
Enrique Santos: Our IP enables us to attract the best researchers to develop and commercialize our platform. IP is our main vehicle for establishing strategic partnerships within the healthcare sector (companies, universities, government agencies). For example, it has enabled us to develop a strong working relationship with OPKO Health in the USA. IP is also an important lever when negotiating with pharmaceutical companies. They are tough players and without a sound IP strategy, you’re lost. We need these alliances to advance our research and find new and better technologies to treat eye disease and to get them to market quickly, so we create the impact we want. This would be impossible without IP.
我们的目标是让墨西哥约两千万糖尿病患者能够方便地获得我们的药物。要生产、制造、进行临床试验并获得监管部门的批准，你需要强大的团队和雄厚的资金。我们的战略合作伙伴关系将使我们能够实现这一目标。
Our goal is to provide the estimated 20 million diabetes patients in Mexico with easy access to our medication. To produce, manufacture, perform clinical trials and secure regulatory approval, you need a strong team and deep pockets. Our strategic partnerships will enable us to achieve this goal.
获得2023年产权组织奖对你们意味着什么？它将如何助力你们的商业目标？
What does it mean to you to win the 2023 WIPO Award and how will it support your business goals?
Arturo Santos：这个奖项意义重大。这是对我们辛勤工作的认可，也是我们继续抗击失明的强大动力。这个奖项将向墨西哥的其他研究人员展示什么是可能实现的目标。每个人都需要一个成功故事。
Arturo Santos: It means a lot. It’s recognition of our hard work and a strong motivation for us to continue our fight against blindness. This award will demonstrate to other researchers in Mexico what is possible. Everyone needs a success story.
这个奖项必将提高我们的信誉和市场知名度。现在，其他制药公司将知晓我们的平台并希望与我们接洽，这将有助于加强我们与OPKO Health的关系。这对我们来说是好消息，并且意义重大。
The Award will certainly boost our credibility and market visibility. Other pharmaceutical companies are going to learn about our platform and look for us now, and it will help strengthen our relationship with OPKO Health. It’s very significant and positive for us.
CRMQ首创的基于纳米技术的视网膜给药平台将帮助患者保持长期视力。通过减少失明发生率，它将产生巨大的经济和社会影响。（图：daliloveart / iStock / Getty Images Plus）
CRMQ's pioneering nanotechnology-based retinal drug delivery platform will help patients maintain their long-term vision. By reducing blindness in the population, it will have a huge economic and social impact. (Photo: daliloveart / iStock / Getty Images Plus)
在线阅读访谈全文，进一步了解墨西哥纳米给药系统。
Read the full interview online and learn more about mexican nano-based drug delivery system.
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Click on Read more for more information about the WIPO Office in China.
