A retrospective real-life study of patients treated with the Ozurdex dexamethasone implant for various indications showed overall good tolerance and provided useful information on risk factors for pressure elevation.Four hundred twenty-one eyes of 361 …
Author: Healio ophthalmology
4D Molecular Therapeutics teams with Foundation Fighting Blindness to develop gene therapies
4D Molecular Therapeutics announced a partnership with Foundation Fighting Blindness to develop intravitreal gene therapeutics for patients with inherited retinal degenerations and dry age-related macular degeneration. 4D Molecular Therapeutics will pr…
ASCRS, ASOA representatives meet with Congress members at annual fly-in
About 50 physicians and ophthalmic administrators representing the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery and the American Society of Ophthalmic Administrators met with members of Congress in Washington to discuss the need to repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board and the need for regulatory relief for physicians and other care providers from several specific program requirements, according to an ASCRS press release. The representatives met with Congress through the annual Alliance of Specialty Medicine Legislative Fly-In, with a total of 135 physicians and practice administrators participating. According to an (Read more...)
Allegro Ophthalmics receives $10.7 million in private financing
Allegro Ophthalmics announced it has secured $10.7 million in a private round of equity financing. The additional capital will allow the company to complete several phase 2 clinical trials and help prepare for phase 3 studies in the future, Vicken Kara…
New definition of dry eye disease recognizes its multifactorial nature
The TFOS DEWS II membership acknowledged the need to recognize the multifactorial nature of dry eye disease, which has led to a refined definition of the disease, wherein loss of homeostasis of the tear film is the central pathophysiological concept.A …
Women in Ophthalmology Summer Symposium to focus on leadership
The annual Women in Ophthalmology Summer Symposium will take place in San Diego from Aug. 10 to 13 with a restructured format, new content and more networking opportunities, meeting chair Lisa Nijm, MD, JD, told Healio.com/OSN. With more than 300 atten…
Patients report satisfaction with bifocal enhanced depth of focus IOL
Patients reported satisfaction with distance and intermediate vision after implantation of a new shape-segmented enhanced depth of focus IOL. In a study performed at Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, Germany, 22 patients between the ages of 55 a…
PUBLICATION EXCLUSIVE: Man presents with blurry vision, flashes, floaters and redness
A 53-year-old Caucasian man presented with a 3-week history of worsening blurry vision of the left eye associated with flashes, floaters and redness. He also complained of a recent fever that lasted 2 weeks and resolved on its own. He noted that he recently had a “sore” in his mouth that also resolved.The patient had a medical history of hypertension and hyperlipidemia. His ocular history was significant only for refractive error. He denied any tobacco use and reported social alcohol use. He had no pets at home. He worked as (Read more...)
Top five videos from OCTANe
The OCTANe Ophthalmology Technology Summit, held in Newport Beach, California, in June, gave experts a forum to discuss new technology and business opportunities in the field of ophthalmology.Healio.com/OSN was there to provide live coverage, including…
YAG laser vitreolysis improves symptomatic vitreous floaters
YAG laser vitreolysis was associated with a better improvement in vitreous floater symptoms than a sham procedure, according to study findings.Researchers conducted a masked, sham-controlled, randomized clinical trial in 52 eyes of 52 patients. The stu…
Cenegermin eye drops approved in Europe for neurotrophic keratitis
Cenegermin eye drops received marketing authorization from the European Commission for the treatment of neurotrophic keratitis. This is the first biotechnological treatment available for moderate to severe neurotrophic keratitis, according to a press release from Dompé.
PUBLICATION EXCLUSIVE: Descemet’s membrane endothelial keratoplasty slowly on the rise
Lamellar techniques have almost entirely replaced penetrating keratoplasty. They have undergone progressive refinements and have more recently evolved toward minimizing the presence of allogenic tissue in the eye to prevent rejection and graft failure.“Overall, if we can work toward smaller grafts or no graft at all, this is going to benefit the patient in many ways. On the other hand, if we can multiply the number of grafts we can obtain from the same donor, we can reduce the costs and the problem of tissue shortage in some areas of (Read more...)
Alimera allowed to reduce size of Iluvien study in UK
The United Kingdom’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency has given final approval to reduce the size of Alimera Sciences’ post-marketing study of Iluvien, according to a company press release.The study, originally intended to follow 800 patients over 5 years, has shown consistent positive safety data, leading the company to seek a smaller sample size, the release said. There are currently 550 patients enrolled.
Voretigene neparvovec receives rare pediatric disease designation from FDA
The FDA offices of Orphan Products Development and Pediatric Therapeutics have designated voretigene neparvovec as a drug for a rare pediatric disease, according to a Spark Therapeutics press release.Voretigene neparvovec, which will be marketed under …
Akorn shareholders approve Fresenius Kabi merger
Akorn shareholders have approved a merger with Fresenius Kabi, according to an Akorn press release.Fresenius Kabi announced in April that it would acquire the company for $4.3 billion, or $34 per share. The agreement allowed for $450 million in debt to…
Amniotic membrane transplantation adds to benefits of antibiotics in bacterial keratitis
The combination of amniotic membrane transplantation and antibiotic therapy leads to significantly better results than antibiotic therapy alone in eyes with bacterial keratitis, according to a study.At Farabi Eye Hospital in Tehran, Iran, 49 eyes of 49…
NIH awards $1.9 million grant to study bacterial endophthalmitis
The National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health has awarded a $1.9 million grant to a Wayne State University School of Medicine researcher, according to a press release from the school. Ashok Kumar, PhD, assistant professor of opht…
Roclatan demonstrates positive safety results at 12 months in phase 3 trial
Aerie Pharmaceuticals released successful 12-month safety results for the Mercury 1 phase 3 registration trial for Roclatan, a once-daily eye drop to lower IOP. The 12-month safety and efficacy trial, which included a 90-day efficacy endpoint, showed c…
Sustained-release therapies remove patient factor from glaucoma treatment
Sustained delivery devices that take glaucoma therapy out of patients’ hands may be the answer to the many issues related to adherence, with significant benefits for patients and physicians.Not yet available on the U.S. market, these technologies fall under the broad category of guided administration of pharmaceuticals (GAP), ranging from injectable sustained-release formulations, to drug-eluting rings and contact lenses, to punctal plug reservoirs. Many are in the pipeline, undergoing phase 2 or nearing phase 3 trials.
The state of dry eye care, part 2
As we head into the summer months, I thought it would be helpful to take the pulse of our dry eye world and report on the state of the state, if you will. In part 1 I reviewed how we are diagnosing dry eye in our clinics — and learned that the news cycle does not respect the editorial/creative process when RPS sold InflammaDry while my piece was in turnaround. Let us now examine the state of dry eye disease treatment.As a group, doctors who treat DED have become much (Read more...)