If you have been lucky enough, you have had a “jumping-off point” in your life. A point that when you look ahead, it appears fraught with rocks and uncertainty, but when the plunge has ended, you realize your “jumping-off point” brought you more joy and sense of accomplishment than you could ever have achieved without leaping into that great unknown.
Before joining Glaukos, Chris Calcaterra had a successful career at Allergan Surgical and Advanced Medical Optics for 21 years. In 2007, a recruiter reached out to Chris to see if (Read more...)
Author: Healio ophthalmology
Avoid eye injuries on Fourth of July
As the Fourth of July is synonymous with fireworks, Prevent Blindness suggests that Americans attend only authorized firework displays because there is a potential for traumatic eye injuries.
“Every year, thousands of people are injured due to accidents involving fireworks,” Jeff Todd, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness, said in a press release from the group. “These happen in a split second, often to bystanders, and some injuries are so severe that permanent damage occurs.”
Last year, U.S. emergency departments treated about 7,600 fireworks-related injuries
VIDEO: OCTANe OTS promotes ophthalmic innovation
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — James V. Mazzo, global president of Zeiss and chairman of the board for Neurotech, discusses why OCTANe’s Ophthalmology Technology Summit is essential for the promotion of the ophthalmology innovation hub that exists in Orange County.
Fourth of July: How to protect kids from firework-related injuries
Fireworks are a ubiquitous presence among Fourth of July celebrations; however, these bright and colorful displays pose a danger to children who may want to handle these dangerous products.
According to the United State Consumer Product Safety Commission, an average of 280 people present to EDs daily in the days surrounding the holiday. In fact, products popular among children — like sparklers — can provide the opportunity for serious burns and injuries. The organization states that sparklers, which may seem harmless, can burn at 2,000°F.
M. Denise Dowd, MD, MPH, (Read more...)
Low endophthalmitis rate found after intravitreal injections
Analysis of 12 years of data on intravitreal injections in a large tertiary referral center showed a low rate of endophthalmitis as a complication. No difference was found among anti-VEGF agents, and the least favorable visual acuity results were relat…
VIDEO: Lindstrom shares OCTANe OTS takeaways
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. ― Richard L. Lindstrom, MD, chief medical editor of Ocular Surgery News, shares his perspective on OCTANe’s Ophthalmology Technology Summit.
Ocugen begins phase 3 trials of treatment for ocular graft-versus-host disease
Ocugen has begun two pivotal phase 3 clinical trials of OCU300 for the treatment of ocular discomfort and ocular redness in patients with ocular graft-versus-host disease, the company announced in a press release.An investigational new drug application…
VIDEO: OCTANe’s LaunchPad companies present at OTS
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — Bill Carpou, CEO of OCTANe, discusses the LaunchPad companies that presented here at the Ophthalmology Technology Summit. He explains the process of bringing new companies into the LaunchPad accelerator and how the accelerator helps companies bring their products to market from an early stage.
Read OSN’s June 25 publication exclusives online
The cover story of the June 25 issue of Ocular Surgery News focused on treating diabetic macular edema. Here are a few of the issue’s publication exclusives:
Cover Story
Treatment of DME poses complex choices, strives to overcome limitations
Diabetic macular edema remains a major concern despite the availability of technology for potentially earlier diagnosis and better options for treatment. The 2016 WHO Global Report on Diabetes showed that 422 million adults currently live with diabetes and that prevalence has almost quadrupled since 1980. Read more.
Lindstrom ’ s
3-D printed corneas top ophthalmology story in June
Newcastle University’s announcement that researchers had successfully created a 3-D printed human cornea was the most-read article on Healio.com/OSN in June. Other top stories included an FDA approval and a clinical trial update.
Here are the top five stories of the month:
3-D printed corneas an ‘ exciting ’ breakthrough
Researchers at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom have created human corneas using a 3-D printer and stem cells. Read more.
First patient enrolled in enVista MX60EF trifocal IOL trial
The multicenter, randomized study is evaluating the
Ocular Therapeutix resubmits new drug application for Dextenza
Ocular Therapeutix has resubmitted a new drug application to the FDA for its ocular pain treatment Dextenza, the company announced in a press release.
Dextenza (dexamethasone insert 0.4 mg) is a corticosteroid intracanalicular insert placed through the punctum to deliver dexamethasone for up to 30 days.
A complete response letter from the FDA in July 2017 cited manufacturing deficiencies, the release said. This resubmission addresses those citations.
“Since last July, we have worked to make substantial improvements in our manufacturing processes and quality oversight that have allowed us
BioTime receives NIH grant for retinal restoration program
The NIH awarded a grant of $743,345 to BioTime to advance its next-generation retinal restoration program, according to a press release.
The award, from the Small Business Innovation Research program at the NIH, is the second year of funding of a $1.6 million grant.
“This NIH grant program is incredibly competitive, so this award provides further validation of our advances in retinal restoration initiatives, in a continued effort to develop a robust pipeline of cell therapy products for ophthalmology,” Francois Binette, PhD, senior vice president and head of global development (Read more...)
Number of self-employed health care professionals drops 10% since 2001
The percentage of health care professionals who were self-employed declined and the gap in earnings between employed and self-employed health care professionals reversed or narrowed since 2001, according to findings recently published in JAMA Network Open.
“Over the last 15 years, the health care practitioner landscape has changed significantly. There has been a shift away from self-employment, Kamyar Nasseh, PhD, and Marko Vujicic, PhD, both of the Health Policy Institute, American Dental Association, wrote. “Little is known about the gap in earnings between self-employed health
Majority of top Acthar Gel prescribers received manufacturer payments
Among rheumatologists, nephrologists and neurologists who issued more than 10 prescriptions for corticotropin in 2015, 88% received payments from its manufacturer — with more than 20% receiving more than $10,000 — despite the drug’s considerable cost and the dearth of evidence in support of its use, according to findings published in JAMA Network Open.
“Expensive therapies with uncertain or insufficient evidence supporting their use should be particularly scrutinized,” Daniel M. Hartung, PharmD, MPH, of the Oregon Health and Science University College of Pharmacy,
Novartis to spin off Alcon
Novartis is planning to spin off Alcon into a separately traded stand-alone company.
The split, which is subject to general market conditions, tax rulings, shareholder approval and board of directors endorsement, will allow both companies to “focus fully on their respective growth strategies,” according to a Novartis press release.
The ophthalmology pharmaceuticals business will continue to be part of Novartis, while Alcon will focus on surgical and vision care.
In addition, Novartis said it will initiate a share buyback of up to $5 billion by the end of 2019.
“Our (Read more...)
FDA clears IND application for Oyster Point’s dry eye treatment
The FDA has cleared an investigational new drug application for Oyster Point Pharma’s dry eye disease treatment OC-01, the company announced in a press release.
OC-01, a nicotine acetylcholine receptor agonist, is an investigational compound that stimulates natural tear film production via a nasal spray. This clearance will support ongoing phase 2 clinical trials of OC-01 and OC-02, a similar compound, for the treatment of signs and symptoms of dry eye disease, the release said. OC-02 received IND clearance in October 2017.
“Our innovative pharmaceutical approach leverages the
OCTANe Ophthalmology Technology Summit kicks off Friday
Registration is still open for the OCTANe 2018 Ophthalmology Technology Summit, which begins Friday and brings together some of ophthalmology’s top physicians, key opinion leaders, innovators, investors and entrepreneurs.
The keynote address will be delivered by Allergan Chairman, President and CEO Brent Saunders, and a new partnership with CEDARS/ASPENS will assist in connecting leaders in the field with the newest innovations and technologies available.
“The CEDARS/ASPENS collaboration with OCTANe will lead to several key opinion leaders receiving the most current and future
Patients may tolerate plain gut sutures better than polyglactin 910 sutures
Data from a prospective study showed patients experienced improved tolerability and reduced inflammation if they received plain gut suture after undergoing 23-gauge pars plana vitrectomy compared with 8-0 polyglactin 910 suture.
The study included 49 eyes of 49 patients who underwent 23-gauge pars plana vitrectomy. The eyes were randomized to sclerotomy closure with either plain gut suture, Vicryl (polyglactin 910) or a combination of both sutures.
“With small-incision vitrectomy surgery, sutures have become less common but are still necessary on occasion. Many of the patients are
NovaTears available in Australia
NovaTears topical treatment for dry eye disease and meibomian gland dysfunction is now available in Australia, Novaliq announced in a press release.
AFT Pharmaceuticals, a New Zealand-based pharmaceutical company, is commercializing the product throughout Australia and New Zealand, where it was launched 8 months ago, the release said.
“With the introduction of NovaTears, dry eye sufferers in Australia now have a new and highly efficacious treatment option that provides significant improvement to the signs and symptoms of evaporative DED,” Christian Roesky, PhD, managing director and
SMILE may result in higher refractive power correction in peripheral cornea
Patients who underwent either SMILE or LASIK surgery experienced high efficacy and safety, but SMILE patients experienced higher refractive power correction in the peripheral cornea, according to a study.
The retrospective case-matched study included 34 eyes of 23 patients who underwent SMILE and 34 eyes of 24 patients who underwent LASIK. At 3 months postop, safety, efficacy and predictability were compared between the two groups.
“This is a first study truly comparing refractive power correction efficiency between SMILE and LASIK groups after adjusting the optical zone. We revealed the