BALTIMORE — Jonathan Talamo, MD, chief medical officer of Ocular Therapeutix, discusses the company’s pipeline development products, including its clinical development program for Dextenza (dexamethasone insert 0.4 mg), at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology meeting here.
Author: Healio ophthalmology
Prevalence of preservatives in post-cataract surgery drops may increase complications
LOS ANGELES — After cataract surgery, patients with ocular surface disease may have increased postoperative issues with wound healing, comfort and vision recovery if topical therapies contain preservatives, according to a speaker here.“Nearly all topical ophthalmic drops contain preservatives. As you can see, the most common is benzalkonium chloride, or BAK. Due to its biochemistry, BAK has surfactant properties and works like a detergent in dissolving the bacterial walls. It is unfortunately not discriminatory between healthy cells and bacteria, and therefore can cause collateral damage,” Jamie Lynne Metzinger, MS, MPH, (Read more...)
T cells in glaucoma patients may have an altered pattern
BALTIMORE — Researchers proposed that the body’s self-defense mechanisms may be abnormally activated in glaucoma, resulting in an attack on the nerve cells, according to a presentation at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology annual meeting.“We hope that this alteration detected in glaucoma patients may serve as a biomarker in the future,” Gulgun Tezel, MD, professor at the Columbia University Department of Ophthalmology, said in an interview with Healio.com/OSN. “Due to the various etiological differences in patients with glaucoma, it may not be a single biomarker but multiple (Read more...)
Xen45 gel stent may be useful in managing patients with primary angle closure glaucoma
BALTIMORE — In patients with primary angle closure glaucoma, the Xen45 gel stent may be a useful option because of its small size, soft polymer composition and anterior chamber placement, according to a presentation here.“We were able to see that the IOP reduction and safety profile are similar to what we understand in open-angle patients, so we think this warrants some further investigation in angle closure patients,” Susan S. Lee, PhD, said in an interview with Healio.com/OSN at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology annual meeting.
Success of phaco inspires development of MIGS
LOS ANGELES — With increased investment and competition, the impact of surgical treatments for glaucoma is on the rise, according to a speaker here.“By any measure, the impact of glaucoma surgery is increasing,” Reay H. Brown, MD, said at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery meeting. “We’ve always had the unmet need, but now we have the key ingredients of investment, dollars and competition.”
Almost one-third of FDA-approved therapeutics had postmarket safety events
Nearly one-third of the 222 new pharmaceuticals and biologics approved by the FDA from 2001 through 2010 were subject to a postmarket safety event such as issuance of a safety communication, boxed warning, or withdrawal, according to research recently published in JAMA.“Given the inherent limitations of premarket clinical evaluation for drug safety, there may be opportunities to enhance patient safety if factors associated with postmarketsafety events could be identified at the time of FDA approval,” Nicholas S. Downing, MD, department of medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, and colleagues wrote. (Read more...)
Nanosecond laser technology may be future of cataract surgery
LOS ANGELES — Nanosecond laser cataract surgery, which uses a Nd:YAG laser, employs 10% of the total energy as compared with ultrasound, is less traumatic to endothelial cells and the iris, and does not transmit heat during surgery like phacoemulsification does, according to a speaker here.“This is an exciting new technology. … Nanosecond laser cataract surgery is being clinically used today and I believe is a very promising technology for tomorrow,” Eric D. Donnenfeld, MD, said at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery meeting.
Nanosecond laser technology may be future of cataract surgery
LOS ANGELES — Nanosecond laser cataract surgery, which uses a Nd:YAG laser, employs 10% of the total energy as compared with ultrasound, is less traumatic to endothelial cells and the iris, and does not transmit heat during surgery like phacoemulsification does, according to a speaker here.“This is an exciting new technology. … Nanosecond laser cataract surgery is being clinically used today and I believe is a very promising technology for tomorrow,” Eric D. Donnenfeld, MD, said at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery meeting.
SMILE could offer unique benefits to military population
LOS ANGELES — Small incision lenticule extraction has the potential for minimal disruption to the ocular surface, less energy delivered to corneal tissue and less damage to corneal tissue, which means it may offer more benefits to the Department of Defense than the gold standard of surface ablation, according to a speaker here.“It is a single technology-based procedure where the one laser platform does everything for you. It is a single-step procedure, so all the incisions and the dissections are accomplished during one patient interface,” Mark F. Torres, MD, said (Read more...)
IRIS Registry gives clinicians comparative data for individual practices
LOS ANGELES — While still relatively young, the IRIS Registry is already yielding clinically useful information at a practice level, according to David W. Parke II, MD, CEO of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.“The promise of big data is that we’re going to be able to statistically look at uncommon indications for common procedures, comorbidities, subpopulations, therapeutic comparisons. The big thing is we can do this not in a clinical trial with a discrete, very rigid protocol, but with what happens in the real world,” Parke told colleagues at the (Read more...)
Imprimis launches preservative-free Simple Drops for glaucoma
Imprimis Pharmaceuticals launched Simple Drops, preservative-free glaucoma drops, at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery meeting. According to an Imprimis press release, Simple Drops combines multiple glaucoma medications into one b…
VIDEO: Luminate study shows equivalence to anti-VEGF with fewer injections
BALTIMORE — Luminate (ALG-1001) from Allegro Ophthalmics met both its primary and secondary endpoints in a phase 2 trial for the treatment of diabetic macular edema, Peter K. Kaiser, MD, said at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology meeting here. The integrin antagonist was injected monthly for 3 months and then patients were off treatment for 2 months, compared with five monthly injections of bevacizumab. The study showed Luminate was non-inferior to the anti-VEGF treatment with fewer injections.
Zeiss introduces new swept-source OCT and OCT angiography technology
BALTIMORE At the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology meeting, Zeiss announced new Plex Elite 9000 swept-source OCT and OCT angiography technology, developed in collaboration with the Advanced Retina Imaging Network, according to a press release from the company. “Zeiss’ swept-source OCT and OCT angiography platform is truly a remarkable breakthrough in our quest to achieve better, wider, deeper and faster imaging of the retina and choroid. This technology opens up a new world of structural and microvascular clarity,” Philip J. Rosenfeld, MD, PhD, chairman of the ARI Network, (Read more...)
Intravitreal implant with brimonidine reduced GA lesion growth in phase 2 study
BALTIMORE — A brimonidine drug delivery system was well tolerated and reduced geographic atrophy lesion growth, nearing statistical significance at year 2 with a higher dose, based on a phase 2, multicenter, double-masked study presented at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology annual meeting.“In the AMD arena where there is a dire need and no treatments for geographic atrophy available, this is showing some signs of promise in a drug that we’ve had our hands on for over a decade,” Baruch D. Kuppermann, MD, PhD, said in an (Read more...)
VIDEO Actemra shows potential as giant cell arteritis treatment
BALTIMORE ― At the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology meeting here, Christine Birchwood, PhD, senior medical science director for Genentech, discusses research into Actemra (tocilizumab) to save vision in patients with giant cell arteritis.
Valeant Q1 financial report includes Siliq, Bausch + Lomb news
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International announced first quarter financial results, including a reduction of debt of $1.3 billion in the first quarter of 2017 and reduced total debt by $3.6 billion since the same period in 2016.The company’s total revenues were $2.109 billion, an 11% decrease from the first quarter of 2016, according to a news release from Valeant.
Meibomian glands reduced after 3 minutes of intranasal tear neurostimulation
BALTIMORE — Intranasal tear neurostimulation may have a significant effect on meibomian gland morphology, based on research presented at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology annual meeting. Nic holas Pondelis, clinical research assistant and ophthalmic photographer at Tufts Medical Center, spoke about the study in an interview with Healio.com/OSN.
Persistent DME after anti-VEGF therapy may yield poor long-term vision improvement
BALTIMORE — An increased duration of diabetic macular edema in the first 6 months after treatment with an anti-VEGF agent may be associated with worse long-term vision improvement, according to research presented here.“There’s been a debate for a long time on the correlation between retinal edema and long-term visual acuity,” Scott M. Whitcup, MD, said in an interview with Healio.com/OSN at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology annual meeting.
VIDEO: SAKURA study shows promise for sirolimus for noninfectious uveitis
BALTIMORE ― At the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology meeting, Raj K. Maturi, MD, discusses the SAKURA study of sirolimus for the treatment of noninfectious uveitis. It is the largest trial for the disease undertaken in the world to date.
Fluocinolone acetonide implant reduces treatment burden in DME
BALTIMORE — An intravitreal injection of a fluocinolone acetonide implant decreases the treatment burden of diabetic macular edema by increasing the interval between injections for patients who are unsuccessful with first-line anti-VEGF therapies, according to research presented at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology annual meeting.The retrospective study included 16 eyes with DME that failed treatment with an initial VEGF inhibitor and were subsequently injected with a fluocinolone acetonide implant.