This Week in Ophthalmology: Week of August 18, 2024

Welcome to the latest edition of This Week in Ophthalmology, a video series highlighting some of the top articles featured on the Ophthalmology Times website.

We recently talked with Dr. Mahnia Madan. At the recent Ophthalmology World Congress, she made a presentation titled “Lumify Eye Illuminations Cosmetic Products Have a Favorable Safety and Tolerability Profile in Healthy Women.

Let’s check out a snippet from our conversation

Watch Now: Tolerability of cosmetic products on the ocular surface

We learned this week that Opus Genetics announced the FDA has granted Rare Pediatric Disease designation (RPD) for its ocular gene therapy OPGx-LCA5 to treat patients with the inherited retinal disease LCA5.

According to the company, OPGx-LCA5 is an adeno-associated virus 8 (AAV8) vector designed to precisely deliver a functional LCA5 gene to the outer retina in patients with Leber congenital amaurosis resulting from biallelic mutations in the LCA5 gene.

LCA5 is a form of early-onset retinal degeneration that affects approximately 1 in 1.7 million people in the United States. There currently are no approved treatments for individuals with LCA5-related vision loss.

With the designation, OPGx-LCA5 will be eligible to receive a priority review voucher upon approval for any subsequent marketing application that can be sold or transferred to other companies.

Read More: Opus Genetics receives Pediatric Disease Designation from FDA for OPGx-LCA5 to treat rare inherited retinal disease LCA5

In other headlines, blepharoplasty is a frequently performed ophthalmic surgery. As with any procedure, even the commonly performed ones, there are associated adverse events. For blepharoplasty, these include infection, bleeding, and excessive or incomplete fat removal among others.

First author Benjamin Meyer, MD, and colleagues reported that global injuries, although rare, also can occur and urged that they be addressed promptly.1 He is from the Department of Ophthalmology, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami.

Meyer and colleagues called for increased vigilance for globe injuries that require prompt ophthalmologic evaluation following blepharoplasty. They especially emphasized the delayed presentation and the degree of the visual morbidity.

Read More: Global injury associated with blepharoplasty: Rare but serious

Visiox Pharmaceuticals this week announced it has entered into a definitive merger agreement with Ocuvex Therapeutics Inc.

Ocuvex, a privately held ophthalmic pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing novel therapies for glaucoma and other disorders, has a pipeline of near-term ophthalmic medicines.

The companies noted the strategic combination will position the newly combined entity as a potential leader in the eye care sector with a portfolio of ophthalmic medicines.

Going forward, the company will operate under the Ocuvex name, building on Visiox's commitment to disrupting the ophthalmic market through high-level collaboration with eye care professionals.

Read More: Visiox Pharmaceuticals announces merger with Ocuvex Therpeutics

Thank you for joining me for This Week in Ophthalmology. You can read more about these and other articles on our website.