Eyes On. April
Danny Laycock
???Global Ophthalmology Recruitment Specialist ??? - Biotech, Pharma, Med Device, AI
Eyes On.
Welcome to the April edition of the Eyes On. Newsletter by?Danny Laycock ?and?#CMOphthalmology .
April was another busy month in the #ophthalmology and #eyecare space with lots of news and events taking place including ARVO which wraps up today.
Here are my April highlights. Did something big happen with your company that I’ve missed, drop me a message and let me know…
Eyes On. Glaucoma
ViaLase, Inc , who are developing femtosecond laser image-guided high precision trabeculotomy (FLigHT) for glaucoma care, announced that they have published their 24-month safety data from the first in-human study.
Richard Lewis MD Chief Medical Officer at ViaLase, Inc said ?"This initial pilot study, along with our currently enrolling?multicentre prospective randomized trial, are both important components of our efforts to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the ViaLase technology performing the first and only FLigHT treatment and understand its potential as a novel, non-invasive treatment for glaucoma patients."
塞拉尼斯 and Glaukos Corporation announced their collaboration to supply the VitalDose Drug Delivery Platform as a component for Glaukos’ iDose TR.
"The inclusion of our VitalDose? Platform in Glaukos’ iDose TR therapy furthers our mission to improve patient health in ophthalmology for those living with chronic eye diseases," says Cyonna Holmes, Ph.D. , global business strategy leader for ophthalmology at Celanese. "Our team is excited to support Glaukos as they continue to advance their efforts to bring iDose TR to patients who may need a new glaucoma treatment alternative."
Glaukos await approval of the NDA submitted to the FDA in February this year for iDOSE TR.
CILIATECH - Glaucoma Innovators announced that they have raised €3.5 Million in Series A funding to advance the development of it’s Cilio-scleral Inter-positioning Device (CID) which they say is the first implant for glaucoma which leaves the anterior chamber untouched. Exciting news for Olivier BENOIT and all the team.
Eyes On. Retina
Syfovre has been huge news for the GA space since it’s FDA approval back in February and this month Apellis Pharmaceuticals presented the phase 3 functional analyses which showed that Syfovre resulted in improvements to visual function and quality of life in patients with extrafoveal lesions as well as showing meaningful reduction in the loss of photoreceptor and retinal pigmented epithelial cells.
Syfovre’s marketing applications are currently under review with regulatory agencies in the EU, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, and the UK with decisions expected in the first half of 2024.
Another company making exciting advancements in the Retina space, Iveric Bio, An Astellas Company , presented their new findings from analysis of data on avacincaptad pegol in their GATHER1 and GATHER2 phase 3 clinical trials which for the first time, showed a relationship between geographic atrophy growth and worsening of vision loss.
“This is the first time a relationship between disease progression and worsening visual acuity has been observed in GA, connecting anatomy and function,” Carl Danzig , MD, Director, Vitreo-Retinal Services, Rand Eye Institute, Deerfield Beach, Florida, “These data suggest that in the ACP-treated group, the reduction in growth of GA resulted in an overall lower rate of vision loss.”
In surgical news, Samsara Vision announced that the first three UK patients received implantation of the SING IMT at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle. Age-related macular degeneration is currently the biggest cause of sight loss in the UK with more than 700,000 people affected by the condition and the SING IMT can bring hope and improved quality of life for those suffering from late stage AMD.?
Eyes On. Pharma
French based Horus Pharma , who specialise in developing, patenting and marketing products for eyecare and eyelid health, announced the launch of their Nordic subsidiary which will cover Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark from it’s base in Stockholm and will be led by new General Manager, Johan Marlowe .
Claude Claret , CEO of Horus said "We are delighted to welcome Johan Marlowe as General Manager of the subsidiary. He brings 30 years of unique experience in ophthalmology and a deep knowledge of the Nordic market”.
Eyes On. Digital
Retinai announced it’s new partnership with 勃林格殷格翰 to combine their Discovery platform and AI tools with BI’s research in retinal disease to analyse imaging datasets and real-world evidence to identify novel biomarkers. This aims to accelerate development of novel treatment and more precise diagnosis.
Oklahoma based Lumata Health , who specialise in ophthalmology care management platforms, have joined forces with Prevent Blindness to collaborate and implement training programs for Lumata certified eye care co-ordinators to help overcome care barriers for patients. ?The initial focus will be on mental health resources. Patients that receive support through Lumata Health’s platform miss 30% fewer appointments on average.
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Eyes On. Non-Profit
In other Prevent Blindness news, the organisation has declared May as Ultraviolet Awareness Month and have created a list of resources on their dedicated webpage to increase education for professionals and the public. UV exposure has been linked to Cataracts, Pterygium, Pinguecula, and Eyelid cancers.
Orbis International announced that their joint project with FundamentalVR won the 2023 BOLD Award for Healthtech. The collaboration aims to create low-cost, highly scalable VR simulators to provide training for eye care professionals globally.
Eyes On. ARVO
ARVO 2023 has been taking place in New Orleans over the past few days and there has been news and presentations galore. But one contest you may not have seen is ARVO’s Got Talent!
8 finalists from the world of eyecare are all counting on colleagues, family, friends, and fans to vote for their talent video and win a grand prize of free registration for the 2024 meeting in Seattle.
At the time of posting, the vote is still live with the winner being announced during the Seattle 2024 kick off later today – check out the competition here - https://tinyurl.com/zak2fysn
Company Spotlight: Bulbitech AS
This month's company spotlight is Norwegian based start-up, Bulbitech AS who specialise in functional vision testing with AI-powered eye tracking for the screening of ophthalmological and neurological disorders.
?Their BulbiCAM diagnostic tool (which is CE-certified and FDA registered), paired with the BulbiHUB platform captures and assesses eye tracking data using deep learning algorithms to detect early stages of neuro-ocular dysfunctions.
?Their technology can carry out a number of different visual field tests including synoptic scotoma and motility perimetry, express glaucoma perimetry and comprehensive neurological perimetry as well as many others.
?The BulbiCAM is currently used in clinical research in Norway, the Netherlands, India, Tajikistan, Spain, Croatia, Belgium, Italy, Belgium, Denmark, and the UK.
?The huge advantage of using the BulbiCAM in eye tracking research is that the technology and algorithms that Bulbitech have developed remove the issues of calibration and impacted sample sizes due to subjects using contact lenses, IOLs, glasses, mascara or elderly patients with acquired brain injuries, dementia or Parkinson's.
?This year I had the pleasure of connecting with Dennis Hens of Bulbitech, to learn more about their technology and they are definitely a company to keep an eye on for the future. AI is often talked about for it's uses with OCT and fundus imaging, but is eye tracking an area where it can have an even greater impact to healthcare?
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