A clinical trial to evaluate a new therapeutic treatment using eye drops for the early stages of diabetic retinopathy will start today, researchers announced. A group of leading European ophthalmologists, endocrinologists and researchers have gathered together with BCN Peptides (a biopharmaceutical SME) under "http://eurocondor.eu/" EUROCONDOR, the European Consortium on the early treatment of diabetic retinopathy, and will conduct the clinical trial in 11 clinical centres across the EU. Diabetic retinopathy is an eye disease that occurs in people living with diabetes. It involves changes in the tiny blood vessels that nourish the retina at the back of the eye which can ultimately lead to severe loss of vision or even blindness. Today, diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of preventable blindness among working-age individuals in developed countries. Along with the human suffering from this devastating complication comes an increasingly heavy economic burden: healthcare costs for patients with diabetic retinopathy are almost double that of patients without the complication. There is growing evidence to suggest that retinal neurodegeneration plays an important role in the onset of diabetic retinopathy. With this in mind, EUROCONDOR will conduct a controlled phase II and III clinical trial to assess whether therapeutic strategies based on neuroprotection are effective not only in preventing or arresting retinal neurodegeneration but also in preventing the development and progression of the early stages of diabetic retinopathy.The trial will evaluate the safety and effectiveness of a new therapeutic eye drop treatment based on two neuroprotective drugs: somatostatin (a peptide hormone) and brimonidine (a drug currently used to treat glaucoma).