Week in Review - March 3, 2024

Welcome to another edition of the Ophthalmology Times EyePod Week in Review, offering some news highlights from the last week. Here’s the news.

FDA approves Eyenovia’s APP 13007 for relief of pain, inflammation after surgery

Formosa Pharmaceuticals and AimMax therapeutics announced the FDA has approved Eyenovia’s APP 13007 eye drops for the relief of pain and inflammation following ocular surgery.

Eyenovia acquired U.S. commercial rights of the drug last August from Formosa.

According to a news release, the companies noted that through a super potent corticosteroid, clobetasol propionate ophthalmic suspension 0.05% is derived from Formosa Pharma's proprietary APNT nanoparticle formulation platform.

This innovative formulation represents the first FDA-approved ophthalmic clobetasol propionate product and the first new steroid in over 15 years on the ophthalmic market, offering patients a convenient and straightforward dosing regimen - twice daily for 14 days without tapering.

Regeneron announces publication of one-year results from PULSAR and PHOTON trials

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals announced the publication of one-year results from the pivotal PULSAR and PHOTON trials for aflibercept 8 mg injection (Eylea HD).

Results were published in The Lancet, specifically detailing data demonstrating EyleaD extended dosing regimens were non-inferior to aflibercept 2 mg injection for both the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration and diabetic macular edema.

The PULSAR and PHOTON trials are 2 double-masked, active-controlled pivotal trials evaluating Eylea H D compared to Eylea. PULSAR is evaluating treatment in wet age-related macular degeneration while PHOTON is evaluating treatment in diabetic macular edema. In both trials, patients were randomized into 3 treatment groups to receive either: Eylea HD every 12 weeks, Eylea HD every 16 weeks, or Eylea every 8 weeks.

Eyelea HD was approved by the FDA for treatment of patients with wet age-related macular degeneration, diabetic macular edema and diabetic retinopathy.

Socioeconomic vulnerability impact on glaucoma status

A team of researchers from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, underscored the negative impact of socioeconomic vulnerability on glaucoma status: that the structural and functional glaucoma severity is worse at baseline and the retinal nerve fiber layer worsens more over time.

The social vulnerability index, which measures neighborhood-level factors, was linked to patient addresses at the census tract level.

The glaucoma severity was defined based on the baseline mean deviation (MD) from the first recorded visit and the RNFL thickness, the rates of change of which were determined over time.

The investigators concluded that social vulnerability is associated with worse functional loss at baseline, higher rates of structural worsening over time, higher VF variability, and a greater effect of IOP on RN L loss.

CU Ophthalmology residents employ portable fundus photography cameras to enhance on-call imaging

For ophthalmology residents at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, working on-call in a hospital can lead to a mixed bag of eye or vision complaints and they have to be ready for anything.

Portable fundus photography cameras are giving them cutting-edge tools at their fingertips.

The Colorado University Department of Ophthalmology added the portable cameras more than a year ago to the backpacks of residents working on-call, kicking off a new era for both resident training and patient care.

According to the news release, the portable cameras are about the size of a smartphone and are equipped with a long lens that brings valuable imaging to wherever a resident is needed. The addition to these cameras, the university noted, has boosted the first evaluation of patients and facilitated follow-up care. Supervising physicians can now easily see what a resident is seeing, confirming a treatment plan or being able to access more information when a question or concern arises.

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