Pittsburgh-based Noveome Biotherapeutics Inc. announced today it has received a $500,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

The grant will fund clinical trials for brain damage, specifically chronic trauma encephalopathy, and eye conditions including optic neuritis and glaucoma, according to a news release.

The trials will be conducted in collaboration with Israel-based SipNose. Noveome’s product ST266, designed to heal diseased or damaged tissue, can be delivered noninvasively through the nose using SipNose’s device.

The companies formed a collaboration last month and have completed preclinical studies. The Phase 1 clinical safety trial is planned for later this year, according to the release.

Noveome has treated more than 230 participants with ST266 in eight clinical trials. The company, founded in 2000, has gotten $109 million for research from the U.S. Department of Defense, according to the release.