News

Since its November commercial launch, use of aflibercept (Eylea, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals) has elicited reports of post-injection sterile intraocular inflammation at a rate of 0.05% per injection, the company informed the FDA in a Feb. 13 letter. Most of the cases, however, appear to be tied to one group practice.

The promise and advantages offered by a newly developed, irradiated sterile cornea (VisionGraft, Tissue Banks International) for performing lamellar and other non-endothelial surgical procedures are great, according to Yassine J. Daoud, MD.

More than 400 guests attended the Houston “Eye Ball” on Feb. 10. Proceeds will benefit the Houston Eye Associates Foundation and Prevent Blindness Texas, both non-profit organizations dedicated to meeting the critical eye-care needs of the less fortunate.

StemCells Inc. will begin a phase I/II clinical trial to evaluate the safety and preliminary efficacy of the company’s purified human neural stem cell product candidate (HuCNS-SC) in dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) after having received authorization from the FDA.

Ocular Therapeutix will conduct a pivotal clinical trial with a proprietary synthetic hydrogel polymer (ReSure Sealant) over clear corneal incisions after having received an investigational device exemption from the FDA.

The FDA has indicated that it will grant priority review to ThromboGenics’ recently submitted biological license application (BLA) for the use of ocriplasmin intravitreal injection 2.5 mg/ml for symptomatic vitreomacular adhesion, including macular hole. Therefore, the company has withdrawn its original BLA and expects to resubmit it by April.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. has agreed to acquire Eyetech Inc., a privately owned ophthalmic biotechnology company specializing in treatments for retinal diseases.

A corneal inlay (KAMRA, AcuFocus) is proving to be a good treatment option for presbyopia in emmetropic patients.

The FDA has approved tafluprost ophthalmic solution 0.0015%(Zioptan, Merck), a preservative-free prostaglandin analog, for reducing elevated IOP in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension.

The optimal use of mitomycin C in glaucoma surgery in pediatric patients is still controversial.

Loteprednol etabonate ophthalmic suspension 0.2% is a safe and effective first-line therapy for the treatment of seasonal and perennial allergic conjunctivitis.

Use of spectacles, contact lenses, or medications does not inhibit the progression of myopia for any length of time, as seen in in large major studies in children.

Doing the best possible job for patients with ocular allergies involves a careful ferreting out of symptoms and selecting the most effective treatments based on the severity of the disease and the effectiveness of the medications.

Analysis of data from two bilateral conjunctival allergen challenge studies of olopatadine hydrochloride ophthalmic solution 0.2% showed that ocular itching was prevented in a higher percentage of eyes treated with olopatadine when compared with vehicle.

Therapy for ocular allergy has shown significant progress in recent years.

Recent findings about uveal melanoma indicate that patients can be divided into high- and low-risk clasess, and that a mutation in one gene on chromosomes 3, BAP1, is closely associated with the high metastatic risk class 2 form of uveal melanoma.

Since the 2009 approval of bepotastine besilate ophthalmic solution 1.5% for ophthalmic use in the United States, further analysis of clinical trial data and new information from additional studies have revealed more about the drug's clinical utility.

Variety may be the key to selling sunwear successfully in your practice.

Ophthalmologists are not formally trained in the art of talking with patients about potentially stressful medical diagnoses; yet, this skill is important and can be the most challenging part of practice for glaucoma specialists.

Severe halos/glare was the issue most feared most by surgeons implanting diffractive multifocal IOLs, according to a survey.

In the movies "The Da Vinci Code" and "The Matrix Reloaded," evil gunmen who are albinos figure prominently.

When it comes to sunwear, frames get most of the attention.

The trabecular meshwork fails in glaucoma because of physical changes in the trabecular meshwork and altered signaling pathways.

The positive effects on vision health that have arisen from partnerships between Prevent Blindness America affiliates and their respective state public health entities are detailed in the organization’s latest report.

Blinding eye diseases will be the focus of $350,000 in research funded by Research to Prevent Blindness at the John A. Moran Eye Center of the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, and in the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine.

Ruth D. Williams, MD, has begun her term as the 115th president of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Private equity firm Candescent Partners has acquired vision services provider Koch Eye Associates.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery have issued guidelines to assist ophthalmologists in determining their ability to charge Medicare and/or its beneficiaries for use of a femtosecond laser during cataract surgery.

TearScience Inc. has received FDA clearance for a second-generation version of its proprietary device that treats evaporative dry eye by liquefying and evacuating obstructions in the meibomian glands (LipiFlow Thermal Pulsation System).

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. has withdrawn its offer to acquire ISTA Pharmaceuticals Inc. for $7.50 per share in cash.