Kala Pharmaceuticals , Inc .KALA announced that the FDA has accepted its investigational new drug (IND) application for its lead product candidate, KPI-012, which is being developed for the treatment of persistent corneal epithelial defect (PCED), a rare disease of impaired corneal healing.The company plans to begin a phase IIb study evaluating KPI-012 for treating PCED in the first quarter of 2023.The randomized, vehicle-controlled, parallel-group phase IIb study will enroll around 90 adult patients with PCED and is designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of two doses of KPI-012 ophthalmic solution versus vehicle for 56 days. The primary endpoint of the study will check the complete healing of the PCED as measured by corneal fluorescein staining.Top-line data from the above-mentioned