The Early Bird Gets The Worm, And Bragging Rights

When I started covering health care — back when some of this year’s ophthalmology residency matches were wrapping up their junior varsity high school sport season (or marching band, if you were as cool as me) and meeting with their guidance counselors about what colleges to apply to — all the editors who knew better told me “don’t even bother covering early phase studies, doctors don’t really care about them.”?

Is that true? It goes against my journalistic instinct to see something new and intentionally ignore it! Sure, a lot of this stuff isn’t proven in human trials yet, but aren’t these slightly pie-in-the-sky proposals precisely what keeps your passion for ophthalmology burning? Isn’t it at least good for some cocktail chatter??

That’s my instinct on the matter, and that’s why we started diving into occasional early phase trial coverage on Ophthalmology Advisor . Because keeping up with new innovations means being there from the very start, all the way to product launch. I started talking with people back in 2017 about an anti-VEGF option that could be delivered twice annually. If only I’d put money on it, or at least wrote a big feature article about it, I could point to today for the only thing more valuable than money: The ability to say “I told ya so!”?

So, in the interest of your future told-ya-so opportunities, here is some research Ophthalmology Advisor is keeping a close watch on — some that have already wrapped into phase 3 trials, and some in the earliest stages of development.

In one early trials article, researchers are exploring whether a topical drop can help treat cataracts. So far, a study shows efficacy in reducing lens density, and improving visual outcomes. In another study, a CRISPR gene therapy appears to improve vision in an inherited sight-threatening disease. Gene therapies may also have utility in suppressing vascular endothelial growth factor A, making them an option for patients with an age-related eye disease.?

In diagnostic research, an artificial intelligence algorithm appears to have the capability to predict an intraocular inflammation response to treatment based on SD-OCT images.

And don’t forget that our FDA Roundup is updated regularly to keep you abreast of what industry is making available to your practice. At best, these articles can play a role in helping you strategize treatment and potentially preserve a patient’s visual health. At the very least, they can serve as a reminder that researchers in eye care are constantly bringing new developments to clinical practice.

— Bill Kekevian, Senior Editor of Ophthalmology Advisor & Optometry Advisor, of Haymarket Medical Network

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