BOSTON — Taking a look at the market is the starting point when first evaluating the likelihood that an innovative idea can be a successfully developed opportunity, according to William J. Link, PhD, a panelist for the Innovation in Retina session at the annual meeting of the American Society of Retina Specialists.Link said he studies a number of factors when considering opportunities: What are the unmet needs? Will the technology make a difference? How does the caliber and integrity of the team fit? Is there a regulatory path? Does capital (Read more...)
Author: Healio ophthalmology
Omeros closes $68.3 million public stock offering
Omeros has closed its underwritten public offering with 3 million shares of its common stock being sold at $22.75 per share, according to a company press release.The company generated $63.6 million of net proceeds from the offering, which it intends to use for “general corporate purposes.” This includes research and development of its OMS721 programs, clinical trials, manufacturing costs and other costs that will assist the company in advancing its product candidates toward biologic license application and new drug application submissions.
Treatment arms for CRVO yield no difference in visual acuity results
BOSTON — Dexamethasone implant, ranibizumab injections or a combination of the two each yielded no statistically significant difference in visual acuity or central retinal thickness changes in treatment of central retinal vein occlusion, according to a speaker here.“The two approaches that we have currently for treatment [of CRVO] include the dexamethasone implant and the anti-VEGF agents,” Victor H. Gonzalez, MD, said at the American Society of Retina Specialists meeting, where he gave an interim analysis of the ORION study. “Because the etiology of CRVO macular edema finds its basis in (Read more...)
VIDEO: WIO empowers female ophthalmologists through education
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Healio exclusive: AMA president discusses burnout, opioid epidemic, health care reform
Earlier this year, AMA swore in family physician David O. Barbe, MD, as its 172nd president. Previously, he had served in various capacities on AMA’s board and its committees.
Lucentis achieves visual, anatomic gains in 5 trials
BOSTON —David Eichenbaum, MD, and colleagues recapped the effects of Lucentis on retinal vein occlusion in takeaway points from five large clinical trials in a poster presented here at the American Society of Retina Specialists meeting.The BRAVO, SHORE and CRUISE trials all studied efficacy and safety of monthly and as-needed ranibizumab (Lucentis, Genentech) treatment for patients with retinal vein occlusion, and the BRIGHTER and CRYSTAL studies looked at efficacy and safety of ranibizumab in patients with retinal vein occlusion with and without macular ischemia.
Zeiss acquires cataract surgery planning technology
Zeiss has acquired Veracity Innovations LLC, a cloud-based platform for cataract surgery planning, according to a company press release. Veracity, which was launched at this year’s American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery annual meeting, allows surgeons to manage, analyze and plan cataract surgeries for the best outcomes, and works with many electronic medical records and diagnostic devices, the release said.
No difference found in stroke type with or without anti-VEGFs
BOSTON — No differences in type or anatomic distribution of strokes were seen in patients who received intravitreal anti-VEGF injections compared with patients with similar disease processes who did not receive anti-VEGF injections, according to a study presented at the American Society of Retina Specialists meeting here. Sophie J. Bakri, MD, presented a retrospective review of patient records in the Rochester Epidemiology Project, a validated health care database of patients in Olmsted County, Minnesota. The study looked at location and types of strokes, both hemorrhagic and ischemic, in patients receiving (Read more...)
Trump signs FDA Reauthorization Act of 2017 into law
President Donald J. Trump recently signed the FDA Reauthorization Act of 2017 into law. The FDA Reauthorization Act of 2017 (H.R. 2430) reauthorizes the user fee programs for prescription drugs, medical devices, generic drugs and biosimilars, and…
SightLife names new CEO
SightLife has named Claire Bonilla as its new CEO.Bonilla, who most recently served as the organization’s chief global officer, will also join its board.
Reduced diabetic retinopathy severity can enhance functional vision
BOSTON — Ranibizumab treatment for diabetic retinopathy, with or without diabetic macular edema, may regress the severity of the retinopathy to a milder stage, thus enhancing other visual function outcomes, Jeffrey R. Willis, MD, PhD, said in a study presented at the American Society of Retina Specialists meeting.Adult patients with proliferative or nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy report significant functional and visual function difficulties, but treatment with Lucentis (Genentech) has been shown to reduce diabetic retinopathy by two steps or greater at 1-year follow-up, Willis said.
PUBLICATION EXCLUSIVE: Advances in glaucoma management blur the barriers between subspecialties
Glaucoma management has undergone significant advancements in recent years. New minimally invasive surgical options have become available, filling in the gap between medical management and major surgeries such as trabeculectomy and tubes. On the diagnostic side, OCT technology has allowed a better understanding of the pathophysiology of glaucoma and more accurate monitoring of the effects of treatment, and has broadened the view to new imaging markers for progression. Glaucoma has opened up as a subspecialty to share areas of interest with other subspecialties and even other branches of medicine.“The life (Read more...)
VIDEO: Wet lab on DMEK a highlight at WIO symposium
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Zone, visual acuity affect outcomes after traumatic injury
BOSTON — Patients with low visual acuity at presentation for a traumatic eye injury tended to have worse vision at final follow-up and a higher risk for enucleation, according to a poster presented here at the American Society of Retina Specialists meeting. Sami H. Uwaydat, MD, and colleagues presented the findings of a retrospective chart review of 87 eyes with globe injuries between 2009 and 2015. At presentation, 11.49% of these eyes had no light perception (NLP), and 10.34% of eyes were eventually enucleated.
AGTC, Foundation Fighting Blindness form partnership
The Foundation Fighting Blindness has joined Applied Genetics Technology Corporation in a partnership agreement to advance gene therapy research to treat inherited diseases, the two entities announced in a joint press release.AGTC will provide grant funding to support the foundation’s My Retina Tracker registry as well as a study intended to identify barriers that prevent patients from participation in genetic testing.
Greater extent of edema associated with worse visual acuity
BOSTON — Patients with diabetic macular edema who experienced a greater extent of edema at 52 weeks post-ranibizumab treatment experienced worse anatomic response compared with patients with less extent of macular edema, according to a poster presented at the American Society of Retina Specialists meeting. Pravin U. Dugel, MD, and colleagues presented the findings of a post hoc analysis of 367 eyes from the Lucentis (ranibizumab, Genentech) treatment arms in the Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research Center Network Protocol I study. Eyes were organized into quartiles depending on the extent of (Read more...)
VIDEO: Teleophthalmology, AI set to improve health care delivery, outcomes
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FDA to grant ‘voluntary action indicated’ classification to B+L
The FDA will issue a “voluntary action indicated” inspection classification for Valeant’s Bausch + Lomb manufacturing plant in Tampa, Florida, according to a company press release.This development will eliminate manufacturing uncertainties related to the facility’s regulatory submissions, the release said.
Fewer anti-VEGF injections needed over time
BOSTON — A real-world look at the treat-and-extend regimen of anti-VEGF agents for treating neovascular age-related macular degeneration showed improved vision in patients with fewer injections per year, according to a poster presented at the American Society of Retina Specialists meeting. Arsh ad M. Khanani, MD, and colleagues presented a retrospective evaluation of the 4-year results of the RENO study, which evaluated the real-world treatment outcomes of intravitreal Lucentis (ranibizumab, Genentech), Eylea (aflibercept, Regeneron) or Avastin (bevacizumab, Genentech) given as-needed for treating wet AMD.
VIDEO: Pearls for filler injections
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