The verdict
Our read at a glance.
Whether cenegermin's approved benefit is understood narrowly, as eye drops that heal the cornea in neurotrophic keratitis, a rare nerve-related corneal disease, rather than a general eye-repair or nerve-growth treatment.
- The signal
- Randomized trials show cenegermin eye drops heal the corneal surface in neurotrophic keratitis far more often than placebo eye drops over an eight-week course.
- The unknown
- How durable the healing is and how often the disease returns after treatment, and whether nerve growth factor helps other ocular-surface problems where evidence is still limited.
- Our read
- A genuine first: cenegermin gives the cornea back the nerve-growth signal it is missing in neurotrophic keratitis, and trials show it heals the surface where little else worked. It is a narrow, well-tolerated eye-drop treatment for a specific rare disease, not a general eye or nerve tonic.
The mechanism
How it works.
The cornea, the clear front of the eye, depends on nerves both to feel and to stay healthy; those nerves release signals that help the surface cells renew. In neurotrophic keratitis the corneal nerves are damaged, the surface loses that support, and it stops healing, leading to persistent sores. Cenegermin is a lab-made copy of human nerve growth factor, a natural protein that keeps these sensory nerves and surface cells alive and growing. Dropped onto the eye, it binds nerve-growth-factor receptors on the corneal cells and nerves and restarts that support, helping the surface heal and the nerves recover.
Safety & regulatory boundary
The consequential part.
The most common side effect is eye pain during treatment, along with eye redness, inflammation, and watering, which are usually limited to the treated eye. Cenegermin is approved specifically for neurotrophic keratitis and is not a general dry-eye or eye-rejuvenation treatment. Oxervate is a prescription eye drop used under an eye doctor's care.
What's next
What we're watching.
Longer-term healing and recurrence data, results in broader or pediatric populations, and whether nerve growth factor has a role in other corneal nerve diseases.
Context
Why this is discussed.
Cenegermin is lab-made nerve growth factor delivered as eye drops, and it is the first real treatment for neurotrophic keratitis, a rare disease where the cornea loses its nerve supply and stops healing. It matters because it targets the underlying nerve-support problem rather than just protecting the surface.
The evidence base
19 cited references.
Regulatory & labels1
Domp farmaceutici S.p.A. (FDA label) · 2025
Registered trials8
ClinicalTrials.gov · PHASE3 · RECRUITING · 2026-06-02
ClinicalTrials.gov · PHASE3 · NOT_YET_RECRUITING · 2026-04-30
ClinicalTrials.gov · PHASE2 · COMPLETED · 2024-01-22
ClinicalTrials.gov · COMPLETED · 2023-02-01
ClinicalTrials.gov · PHASE3 · COMPLETED · 2022-01-27
ClinicalTrials.gov · PHASE4 · COMPLETED · 2020-09-09
ClinicalTrials.gov · NA · NOT_YET_RECRUITING · 2025-08-01
ClinicalTrials.gov · PHASE4 · ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING · 2023-01-21
Indexed literature (PubMed)10
Pflugfelder SC et al. · Ophthalmology · 2020
Dua HS et al. · Prog Retin Eye Res · 2018
PubMed · 2006
Dang DH et al. · Drugs · 2022
Wirta D et al. · BMC Ophthalmol · 2024
Deeks ED et al. · Drugs · 2020
Bakr M et al. · Cornea · 2025
Sacchetti M et al. · Drugs Today (Barc) · 2017
Roszkowska AM et al. · Front Ophthalmol (Lausanne) · 2024
Coco G et al. · Drugs Today (Barc) · 2023
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