As noted by both Drs. Phil Rosenfeld and Carmen Puliafito, who have used the new software, this new diagnostic tool will play an important role in assessing and speeding the development of  new treatments for both dry and wet AMD, that are being researched and brought to the market.

To read the full story, please follow this link.

First, the company said that a peer-reviewed publication of clinical results from its first patients treated at UCLA Jules Stein Eye Institute had been published online by the UK’s The Lancet. The study reported on the four-month results of a safety study initiated in human patients last July. In that study, one eye of a patient with Stargardt’s macular dystrophy (SMD), and another with the dry form of AMD were given doses of human embryonic stem cell-derived retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. After four months, no safety problems had been observed and vision improvements were noted in both patients.

The second event was the announcement that the first patient had been treated with stem cells in the UK arm of the Stargardt’s study, at Moorfields Eye Hospital on January 20th.

For the whole story, please follow this link.

I have put together a table in which I list the fourteen clinical trials that I know about in the use of gene therapy in treating ophthalmic disease. Half of the trials are aimed at treating Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis (LCA), while three are for treating the wet form of AMD; one is underway for treating Choroideremia; one for Stargardt’s Disease; and two are aimed at different forms of retinitis pigmentosa (Autosomal Recessive RP and Usher Syndrome 1b).

In addition, I show at least twenty four clinical trials in either the pre-clinical (animal study) mode, or a couple in the IND-preparation mode. That is close to forty clinical trials using gene therapy to treat ophthalmic diseases.

To read more about this important method for treating ophthalmic diseases, please follow this link.

Cenecor (J&J)  has an active trial for Dry AMD underway at both Retina Institute of CA and at Wills Eye.

There are several trials looking at the corneal surface – one by CellSeed France (being done in Germany); one by a Spanish Clinic at three hospitals in Spain; and two at Japanese University clinics. And finally, there is one trial underway looking at optic nerve atrophy in China.

To see the complete list please follow this link.

Each KeraSoft IC lens is custom-made for a patient’s exact needs, and KeraSoft IC lenses can offer increased wear time and improved comfort for patients. KeraSoft IC lenses are a patented combination of the latest technologies in silicone hydrogel materials using geometries from complex mathematics to offer comfortable wear and excellent vision and have been recognized with the UK’s Queen’s Award for Enterprise and Innovation.

Click here to read the full press release.

The first two patients have received embryonic stem cell derived retinal pigment epithelial cells (hESC-derived RPE) and  the company has been authorized to treat the next two patients in the UCLA study, while the first patient will be treated in the UK study in the upcoming week(s), while additional patients will be treated at UCLA in the same time frame.

To read more about these groundbreaking studies please follow this link.

The article assures readers that “[a]ll physicians placed on this list have undergone substantial review from our editorial staff. Physicians do not pay and cannot pay to be selected as a leader to know. The list is not an endorsement of any individual’s or organization’s clinical abilities.”

Here is a link to the article.

I am interested to hear readers’ comments. Are these sort of rankings helpful for our profession? For patients?

HMR59 was developed at Tufts University and subsequently licensed to Hermera Biosciences.

To read more, please follow this link.

Eylea will cost about $1,850 per dose or $16,000 for a year’s treatment, said Robert Terifay, a senior vice president at Regeneron, during a Friday conference call. The drug will be available for doctors to order Nov. 21 and delivered by the next day.

The approval of EYLEA was granted under a Priority Review, a designation that is given to drugs that offer major advances in treatment, or provide a treatment where no adequate therapy exists. This approval was based upon the results of two Phase 3 clinical studies. In these studies, EYLEA dosed every eight weeks, following three initial monthly injections, was clinically equivalent to the standard of care, Lucentis® (ranibizumab injection) dosed every four weeks, as measured by the primary endpoint of maintenance of visual acuity (less than 15 letters of vision loss on an eye chart) over 52 weeks.

The most common adverse reactions (frequency of 5% or more) reported in patients receiving EYLEA were conjunctival hemorrhage, eye pain, cataract, vitreous detachment, vitreous floaters, and increased intraocular pressure. The adverse event profile was similar to that seen with ranibizumab.

Click here for the full release.

I’m in the planning process of putting together a comprehensive article on this subject.

To read about the news release, please follow this link.