News

On the heels of the unanimous rejection by Allergan’s Board of Directors of an unsolicited buyout proposal by Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Valeant’s top executive intends to issue a financial increase counteroffer in an attempt to salvage the deal.

Examining the gender pay gap and what anonymous web users really think of it

Results of a commercially available, genetic profiling test for uveal melanoma can be used to determine patients at high risk for metastasis. Understanding of the genetics of the tumor is also being applied to develop targeted therapies that may improve patient survival.

Laser refractive cataract surgery improves the predictability of refractive outcomes, and this benefit holds value for surgeons and patients.

An optical dispensary designed for maximum shopability is a powerful marketing tool.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology has developed the Intelligent Research in Sight Registry, the first compressive eye disease outpatient clinical registry in the United States.

The iridociliary sulcus is a hidden region of the eye that provides options for optimizing patient outcomes, particularly in patients with glaucoma.

Controversy continues over whether the femtosecond laser provides advantages in cataract surgery that justify its added cost.

The VICTUS femtosecond laser platform (Bausch + Lomb) creates centered, round capsulotomies and should contribute greatly to the accuracy and predictability of cataract surgeries.

Findings from the HARBOR study on ranibizumab for wet macular degeneration prompted new labeling for a potentially less frequent than monthly dosing, depending on individual responses to treatments.

Ohr Pharmaceuticals has completed the enrollment of its OHR-022 phase II clinical trial evaluating its treatment of we age-related macular degeneration (AMD), Squalamine eye drops.

Allergan’s Board of Directors has unanimously rejected an unsolicited buyout proposal by Valeant Pharmaceuticals International.

There are a number of therapeutic options available for managing eyes with recurrent corneal erosion (RCE) syndrome, and a treatment algorithm developed by James J. Reidy, MD, prioritizes their use based on lesion characteristics.

Parion Sciences has received acceptance from the FDA of its Investigational New Drug (IND) application for the company’s treatment for dry eye disease, P-321 ophthalmic solution.

The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) meeting is noted for bringing the latest research and clinical developments to the forefront of clinicians and scientists who venture in the eye-care arena. As with previous meetings, this was prevalent this week in Orlando.

The top three winning descriptions-answering the challenge posed by the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) for members of the eye and vision research community to explain their research to a 12-year-old child in one or two sentences-were announced during the opening ARVO/Alcon Keynote session.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are well recognized as potent agents as they block all downstream prostaglandins, have a long history of safety and efficacy, and fare well in extended-release formulations. Recently, there has been a growing body of evidence showing they have potential in treating cystoid macular edema, said Stephen Kim, MD.

Patients with 2 CFH risk alleles and no ARMS2 risk alleles would be better served by not taking the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) formulation, according to Carl C. Awh, MD.

Local delivery of pharmacotherapy to the eye has long been used for anterior segment disease, but various routes for delivery have also been investigated, said Timothy Olsen, MD.

Almost 70% of patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) are unaware of their disease until vision loss has occurred, said Gregory R. Jackson, PhD.

Due to the extraordinarily high volume and minimal surgeon time, the average cataract cost-including IOL choice-ranges from $41 to $125 at India’s Aravind Eye Hospital, said David W. Hutton.

An evaluation of four randomized clinical trials found no evidence to recommend the use of accommodative IOLs, said Hon Shing Ong, MBBS.

The typical eye undergoes 12,000 intraocular pressure (IOP) spikes per hour while awake, and about 3,000 spikes per hour when sleeping, according to J. Crawford Downs.

In roughly 25% of patients, no further treatment was required to maintain mean visual acuity (VA) outcomes achieved at the exit of the RIDE/RISE 3-year core studies evaluating the efficacy of ranibizumab in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME), according to Allen Ho, MD.

As part of Ophthalmology Times’ coverage of the 2014 meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Group Content Director Mark L. Dlugoss writes this blog with his observations of the meeting.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Avalanche Biotechnologies announced a collaboration to discover, develop, and commercialize novel gene therapy products for the treatment of ophthalmologic diseases.

Retinal angiomatous proliferation (RAP) lesions, treatment with ranibizumab, the absence of subretinal fluid, and the absence of subretinal pigment epithelium fluid (RPE) were associated with fewer injections for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) among participants from the Comparison of AMD Treatments Trials (CATT), said Daniel F. Martin, MD.

Researchers should continue to explore offhand leads or spur-of-the-moment ideas, said 2005 Nobel laureate Barry Marshall, FRACP, FRS, FAA. These very actions have sometimes led to world-changing, award-winning research.