CorNeat Vision and the EIC Accelerator: An Artificial Cornea Halted

When the cornea, the clear front of the eye, is scarred, the usual fix is a donor transplant, and some patients' transplants fail again and again. CorNeat Vision, an Israeli company founded by ophthalmologist Gilad Litvin and engineer Almog Aley-Raz, developed the CorNeat KPro: a synthetic lens held in place by a skirt of material designed to grow into the eye's own tissue, so it needs no donor tissue at all.

The European Innovation Council granted €2,422,519 towards a €3.48 million project to run the trials needed for approval and to build production. According to the CORDIS report, the first-in-human results included patients who regained sight after repeated failed transplants. But in May 2026 CorNeat terminated the trial designed to win FDA clearance and a CE mark, after safety findings in which the device became exposed.

Where CorNeat Stands Today

According to ClinicalTrials.gov, CorNeat's trial of the KPro, started in June 2024 at sites in Canada, France, Israel and the Netherlands, was terminated with 15 patients enrolled; its record was updated on 7 May 2026. The stated reason: "The study was voluntarily terminated by the sponsor following emerging safety findings, including device exposure associated with conjunctival retraction. Enrollment was halted to allow further evaluation and optimization of the device and procedure."

Eight months earlier, in September 2025, the company had announced 50% enrolment in the same trial, described as designed to enable FDA 510(k) clearance and CE marking, and a patient blinded by shingles who regained 20/20 vision. It planned to add US sites in 2026. We found no public statement from the company about the termination.

The Technology: A Cornea That Grows In

CorNeat's device is designed to need no donor tissue. It uses an electrospun skirt of a synthetic material the company calls EverMatrix, meant to integrate permanently with the surrounding eye tissue. During the EIC project, the CORDIS report says, the company made the skirt thinner to integrate faster and perforated it to improve adherence of the conjunctiva, the thin tissue covering the white of the eye. The 2026 safety finding involves that same tissue pulling back and exposing the device.

What the EIC Project Promised, and What CORDIS Shows

RESEE aimed to take the KPro to commercialisation: clinical trials and a usability study for regulatory approval, scaled manufacturing, infrastructure for first sales, and education of surgeons. The CORDIS report says the company completed a first-in-human study in 10 patients, "most of whom were previously defined as terminally blind", including one who had had four failed transplants and another with six. It built a robotic cell for the skirt, able to make about 200 devices a day, in a new cleanroom, and started a second trial with the improved device.

1. First-in-human evidenceDelivered10 patients, some with lasting restored vision, per CORDIS.
2. Scaled manufacturingDeliveredRobotic line for about 200 devices a day.
3. Trial for regulatory approvalTerminatedStopped in 2026 after device exposure in some eyes.
4. First salesNot achievedNo approval in any market found.

What Has Happened Since the Award

The Money

The EIC award was grant only. Besides it, the company cites a US Army project award. We found no announced private funding round with an amount in reliable sources, and no public accounts.

Why Europe Should Care

The EIC funded a non-EU company, which Horizon Europe allows for associated countries such as Israel, and the trial it paid to prepare ran largely at European centres in France and the Netherlands. The outcome is a reminder that medical breakthroughs can fail at the clinical stage even after striking early results.

The Verdict

CorNeat Vision has not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records, company statements, clinical registry data and EU project data, linked throughout.