Here's a look at some of the latest news regarding ophthalmic drugs and therapies from the past week.
- Novartis reported RTH258 (brolucizumab) 6 mg met the primary and key secondary endpoints in two Phase III studies, HAWK and HARRIER, and RTH258 3 mg, evaluated in HAWK, also met these endpoints. The studies reportedly enrolled more than 1,800 patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) across 400 centers worldwide.
- Neurotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc., in collaboration with the Lowy Medical Research Institute (LMRI), announced 24-month results demonstrating that NT-501 delivering Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor (CNTF) has a beneficial effect in patients with Macular Telangiectasia type 2 (MacTel). The trial reportedly demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in the progressive loss of photoreceptors in treated versus untreated eyes.
- Arctic Diagnostics announced its Vita Risk® test has been approved for reimbursement by the United States Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Palmetto Molecular Diagnostic Services Program (MolDX) (LCD 37035). Vita Risk is reportedly a genetics-based adjunct to treatment for AMD, as it can test to determine whether eye vitamin supplementation will help or harm the vision of people with dry AMD.
- Glaukos Corporation reported a study of 53 open-angle glaucoma subjects recently published in Clinical & Experimental Ophthalmology showed that the iStent inject® Trabecular Micro-Bypass, combined with topical travoprost, delivered a 35 percent reduction in mean intraocular pressure (IOP) to 12.9 mm Hg after 18 months of follow-up.
- RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation completed enrollment of its Phase 1/2 study RXI-109-1501 being conducted in patients with advanced neovascular or "wet" AMD where retinal scarring can result in continued vision loss. RXI-109 is a self-delivering RNAi (sd-rxRNA®) compound developed to target connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), a key regulator of scar formation.
- BioTime, Inc. recently reported several developments for its ophthalmology portfolio, including the signing of a new and expanded licensing agreement with Hadassah Medical Organization of Jerusalem, Israel, and publication of preclinical data forming the foundation of the OpRegen® IND submission with the U.S. FDA in TVST.
- Recordati has signed an exclusive license agreement with MimeTech — an Italian development stage company founded by scientists from the University in Florence — for the development and subsequent commercialization on a global basis of a low molecular weight peptidomimetic of human nerve growth factor (NGF) for the treatment of neurotrophic keratitis, which already received an Orphan Drug Designation in the EU.
- Lin BioScience announced that it will be joining BioLabs and Johnson & Johnson Innovation (JLABS), premier biotech incubators located in La Jolla, Calif., to accelerate the development of its pipeline of novel drug candidates targeting unmet medical needs. The company's drug development pipeline currently includes ophthalmology candidates for dry AMD and Stargardt disease.
- Ocugen, Inc. has closed a $7.5 million round of Series B funding, which will reportedly support the advancement of the company's products into clinical trials. The company's drug candidates are reportedly focused on activating novel biologic pathways to treat inflammatory, degenerative, and neovascular diseases of the eye.
- Genentech has signed a license agreement with Vital Art and Science, LLC for the use of Vital Art and Science’s mVT® App service in Genentech’s ophthalmology clinical studies. Genentech reportedly intends to use the App service to enhance patient experience, improve the effectiveness of patient‘s interactions with health care providers and apply the data collected through the App service to improve patient care and clinical trial design.
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