“This is the first demonstration that a microbe that lives on the ocular surface could be engineered to deliver a therapeutic that improves eye health,” said senior author Anthony St. Leger, Ph.D., associate professor of ophthalmology and immunology at Pitt and the UPMC Vision Institute.

“It opens the door to the idea of ‘living medicine‘ for the eye—something you apply once, and it stays, protects and helps the tissue heal.”

Because tears continually wash medications away, treating ocular surface disease often requires multiple daily applications of eye drops. This can limit the effectiveness of therapies for conditions such as corneal abrasions or dry eye disease.