News

Exton, PA-Othera Pharmaceuticals Inc. has begun enrollment for a phase II clinical trial of its topical eye drop OT-551 in patients with bilateral geographic atrophy (GA), an advanced form of dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Irvine, CA-ISTA Pharmaceuticals Inc. has submitted an investigational new drug application with the FDA for its eye-drop formulation of bepotastine to treat allergic conjunctivitis.

Rochester, NY-Bausch & Lomb has purchased the over-the-counter (OTC) allergy franchise of Alimera Sciences Inc., a privately held company based in Atlanta.

Washington, DC-The FDA has issued an approvable letter for brimonidine tartrate/timolol maleate ophthalmic solution (Combigan, Allergan Inc.), outlining the remaining conditions that the company must meet to obtain final marketing approval from the agency.

Santa Ana, CA-Advanced Medical Optics Inc. (AMO) will acquire IntraLase Corp. for approximately $808 million in cash, adding IntraLase’s femtosecond laser technology for LASIK to its portfolio of refractive technologies.

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Physicians can earn an extra 1.5% bonus on their Medicare cases beginning July 1 if they agree to report their compliance with various procedures.

The chances are significantly-perhaps surprisingly-better than even that the typical eye-care practice will fall victim to internal theft. That being the case, practice managers need to know how to identify internal theft and how to prevent it from happening in their practices.

Las Vegas-Patients with subfoveal cho-roidal neovascularization (CNV) who received monthly injections of ranibizumab (Lucentis, Genentech) for 3 months and quarterly thereafter fared better than those patients receiving sham treatment in the PIER study. Vision in patients receiving the quarterly injections in this trial was not as good as that in patients who received monthly doses of ranibizumab for the duration of the MARINA and ANCHOR studies, however, reported Peter K. Kaiser, MD.

Las Vegas-The long-term results of the multicenter Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) indicated that the beneficial effect of treatment with antioxidants and zinc with copper persisted 10 years after the AREDS 1 trial ended in patients who were at higher risk of progression to advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD), Emily Y. Chew, MD, reported during the retina subspecialty day at the American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting.

Jacksonville, FL-The 5S Classification System, developed by Arun C. Gulani, MD, is an approach to classifying various corneal refractive surgery complications. Clinicians can use it to describe the cornea based on appearance rather than by previously used technologies, said Dr. Gulani, founding director of Gulani Vision Institute, Jacksonville, FL.

London-Conductive keratoplasty (CK, Refractec), an effective treatment for the correction of hyperopia or presbyopia, might be a useful procedure for cataract patients with residual astigmatism, according to Tejas D. Shah, MD, who spoke at the XXIV Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons.

Muscat, Sultanate of Oman-The Carriazo-Pendular microkeratome (Schwind eye-tech-solutions) has been shown to be safe and to produce flaps of predictable thickness with two different cutting head sizes and two different suction ring sizes in a large, multicenter European study.

Tampere, Finland-The M2 microkeratome (Moria) received high marks from researchers who used the instrument to create thin flaps during LASIK.

The regression equation: flap thickness = 0.26 (preop corneal thickness) – 0.19 (age) – 11.30 (blade type; 0 = new, 1 = used) + 0.76 (average K) – 22.05.

London-In a comparison of visual outcomes with the femtosecond laser and mechanical microkeratomes following LASIK, both were very effective at targeting emmetropia. Eyes treated with the femtosecond laser, however, had faster visual recovery and better uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) results at 3 months despite experiencing more transient symptoms immediately after surgery, reported Capt. Steve Schallhorn, MD, here at the XXIV Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons.

London-One-year data from an eye-to-eye comparison study of the IntraLase femtosecond laser (IntraLase Corp.) versus the Hansatome mechanical microkeratome (Bausch & Lomb) in myopic LASIK with the VISX Custom-Vue platform (Advanced Medical Optics/VISX) showed that refractive outcomes in both of the groups were excellent and identical despite clinically and statistically significant differences favoring the femtosecond laser earlier in the study.

Las Vegas-Post-LASIK dry eye is a common problem even in patients with no preoperative evidence of dry eye. In fact, the prevalence of dry eye in the adult population has been reported to be as high as 70% (under certain conditions). Therefore, all LASIK candidates should be treated as if they might develop the condition, according to a refractive surgery expert.

London-Thin, shallow corneal flaps of approximately 80 to 90 ?m created with an IntraLase femtosecond laser (IntraLase Corp.) may produce the best results in refractive surgery, effectively eliminating pain and haze while producing long-term visual stability, said John Marshall, PhD, in a keynote address during a session on femtosecond lasers here at the XXIV Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS).

Las Vegas-Omesh P. Gupta, MD, MBA, of Wills Eye at Jefferson, Philadelphia, was named the winner of the fourth annual Ophthalmology Times Resident Writer's Award Program. The program was sponsored by Advanced Medical Optics (AMO). During a presentation in November at the Venetian Hotel, Dr. Gupta was the first-place winner for a case study of intracameral entry of antibiotic ointment following routine cataract phacoemulsification.

Editor's Note: Omesh P. Gupta, MD, MBA, a senior ophthalmology resident and co-chief resident at Wills Eye at Jefferson, Philadelphia, was named the winner of the fourth annual Ophthalmology Times Resident Writer's Award Program-presented at the 2006 American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting in Las Vegas.

A 59-year-old male was referred for decreased vision and glare in his right eye 7 days after uneventful clear corneal (CC) phacoemulsification with IOL implantation. On postoperative day 1, his visual acuity was 20/25 in the affected eye. The anterior chamber reaction revealed 1+ cell and flare and the IOL was clear.

Boston-SOLX, the glaucoma division of OccuLogix Inc., has begun an international program to train and certify ophthalmologists in Europe and the Middle East in surgical implantation procedures using the company's Gold Micro-Shunt products.

Boston-The Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, was the first institution in the United States to acquire the Allegretto Wave Eye-Q excimer laser system for performing LASIK. Another system was installed 2 weeks later at Emory Vision, part of the Emory Eye Center and the Emory School of Medicine, Atlanta.

Dublin, CA-Carl Zeiss Meditec Inc. has installed 6,000 Stratus OCT systems.

St. Petersburg, FL-Lenstec Inc. says the FDA has granted it an investigational device exemption to begin a clinical trial of the Softec HD posterior chamber IOL.

Las Vegas-More than 32,570 people registered for the 2006 American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting in November, making it the most successful meeting in the organization's history.

Cleveland-The Cleveland Clinic's Cole Eye Institute will lead a large, multicenter clinical trial to explore combination therapy for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

"Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun's rays do not burn until brought to a focus."

Las Vegas-Herpes simplex virus (HSV) keratitis is the leading infectious cause of corneal blindness in the developed world, said Deborah Pavan-Langston, MD, FACS, at the American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting. HSV infection also is one of the most complicated illnesses, because it encompasses mechanical and immune as well as infectious components, continued Dr. Pavan-Langston, associate professor of ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Boston.