[Doctor Startup] Embracing even the pain — a story of passion

RudaCure is currently developing the eye drop RCI001 centered around Professor Donghyun Kim (Department of Ophthalmology, Gachon University). Dry eye disease — an uncomfortable condition for the eyes — is viewed as one type of sensory disorder. The treatment approach involves suppressing the abnormal signal transduction of Rac1, which is associated with the generation of reactive oxygen species and inflammatory responses, to treat dry eye disease.

Some eye drops contain substances that stimulate pain nerves, causing discomfort upon instillation — this is a well-known drawback. RCI001 does not stimulate nerves, so it does not cause pain when applied. It also does not produce elevated intraocular pressure, a side effect that can lead to glaucoma.

RudaCure is also developing RCI002, a non-narcotic pain treatment. Since the American Pain Society filed for bankruptcy in 2019 after facing lawsuits for encouraging overprescription of narcotic analgesics, the development of non-narcotic analgesics has become a global priority. RCI002 reduces pain by inhibiting the function of TRPV1, a protein critical to pain signaling.

RudaCure is a growing company that is actively building partnerships with major pharmaceutical companies.

[Correction notice · 15 September 2026] The mechanism of action described for RCI002 (RC-0165) in this article reflects the company's position at the time of publication. Naloxone was subsequently shown to fully block analgesia in the MIA osteoarthritis model, and the company has corrected the description: RCI002 is not a TRPV1-MOR dual-target non-opioid analgesic but a mu-opioid receptor (MOR) agonist administered by intra-articular injection. The current description is on the pipeline page.