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Weekly Ophthalmic Surgeon Poll for January 2022

January 2022 Ophthalmic News Briefs

Chinese company AffaMed Therapeutics announced Jan. 3 that it had entered into an agreement with Hanmi Pharmaceutical to develop and commercialize dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) drug ca...

$Global Refractive Market Rebounds Strongly after COVID-19$

Global Refractive Market Rebounds Strongly after COVID-19

The impact of COVID-19 shutdowns initially sharply reduced the number of refractive surgical procedures, but demand has bounced back strongly, with the use of protective masks initiating new driver...

Glaukos Announces FDA 510(k) Clearance of iPrime for Glaucoma Surgery

Glaukos announced Jan. 6 that the US FDA had granted 510(k) clearance for the company’s iPrimeviscodelivery system. The iPrime is a single-use, minimally invasive ab interno device, which appears d...

DORC Increases Focus on Cataract Surgery with WEFIS Partnership

DORC International and WEFIS GmbH announced Jan. 12 that they have formed a new strategic partnership to develop cataract surgical instruments for use with DORC’s EVA platform and EQUIPHACO range o...

Robert E. Wiggins Jr., MD, Becomes President of AAO

The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) reported Jan. 6 that Robert E. Wiggins Jr., MD, had begun his one-year term as president of the organization. Wiggins specializes in pediatric ophthalmol...

Stuart’s Dry Eye Candidate Achieves Primary Endpoint in Phase II Trial

Stuart Therapeutics reported Jan. 3 that its dry eye candidate, ST-100, achieved its primary endpoint in a Phase II trial. The multi-center, randomized, double-masked study evaluated two dose level...

Samsara Vision Files SEC Paperwork for $25 Million IPO to Advance IMT

Samsara Vision, of Far Hills, New Jersey, plans to raise $25 million in an initial public offering to advance a next-generation version of its Implantable Miniature Telescope (by Dr. Isaac Lipshitz...

Glaukos Enrolls First Patients in Phase II Trials of Eyelid Creams for Dry Eye, Presbyopia

Glaukos announced Jan. 11 that it had achieved two clinical milestones with drug candidates utilizing its iLution transdermal eyelid cream platform. The San Clemente, California, company reported t...

Melt Pharmaceuticals Submits INDs for MELT‑210 (Midazolam) and MELT-400 (Ketamine)

Melt Pharmaceuticals announced Jan. 4 that it had filed two investigational new drug applications (INDs) with the US FDA for its sublingual non‑opioid formulations—MELT-210 (midazolam) for procedur...

Aldeyra Reports Positive Topline Results from Phase II Trial of Reproxalap vs. Xiidra

Aldeyra Therapeutics reported positive topline data on Jan. 11 from a Phase II trial comparing ocular discomfort and itching symptom scores for reproxalap vs. Xiidra in patients with dry eye diseas...

Maze Raises $190 Million to Advance Pipeline, Including 2 Ophthalmic Candidates

Maze Therapeutics, of South San Francisco, California, announced Jan. 10 that it had raised $190 million in a financing round led by Matrix Capital Management. General Catalyst, a16z Bio+Health, Wo...

SalioGen Therapeutics Closes $115 Million Oversubscribed Series B Financing

SalioGen Therapeutics, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, announced Jan. 5 that it had completed an oversubscribed and upsized $115 million Series B funding round. The round was co-led by GordonMD Global...

Rayner Launches Blue Light-Filtering IOL in Europe, Gets FDA Green Light to Begin US Trial of Trifocal Lenses

UK-based ophthalmic company Rayner announced Jan. 5 that it had launched the RayOne Hydrophobic BLF, the company’s first blue light-filtering IOL, in Europe. The lens is available from 0.0 diopters...

TPG Announces Terms for Potential $1.1 Billion IPO

Private equity firm TPG Partners, whose portfolio of companies includes BVI, on Jan. 4 announced the terms for an initial public offering in the US. The Fort Worth, Texas-headquartered company said...

AffaMed Pays $6 Million Up Front to License Risuteganib from Hanmi for Greater China Market

Palatin Initiates Pivotal Phase III Trial of Melanocortin Agonist in Dry Eye

Palatin Technologies announced Dec. 28 that it had begun its pivotal Phase III MELODY-1 trial of melanocortin agonistPL9643 in dry eye. The study is designed to enroll up to 400 patients at multipl...

FDA Approves Treatment for Myasthenia Gravis, Which Affects Eye Muscles

The US FDA announced Dec. 17 that it had approved Netherlands-based Argenx BV’s Vyvgart for the treatment of generalized myasthenia gravis in adults who test positive for the anti-acetylcholine rec...

Ribomic’s Wet AMD Candidate Fails to Show Vision Improvement over Eylea in Phase II Study

Ribomic, of Japan, announced topline data on Dec. 28 from the Phase II TOFU study of RBM-007 in patients with wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). RBM-007 is a novel oligonucleotide-based ap...

FDA Rejects Santen Glaucoma Candidate over Manufacturing Issues

Japan-based Santen reported Nov. 18 that it had received a complete response letter from the US FDA for its new drug application (NDA) for omidenepag isopropyl (STN1011700 or DE-117) for the treatm...

EyeD Pharma Raises $51 Million to Advance Intraocular Drug Implants

Belgium-based EyeD Pharma announced Dec. 22 that it had raised €45 million (US $51 million) in a funding round backed by a mix of private and public investors. The company said the funding would al...

TearLab Names Adam Szaronos as President, CEO; Mazzo Becomes Executive Chairman

TearLab announced Dec. 9 that Adam Szaronos had been appointed president and chief executive officer by the company’s board of directors, effective immediately. TearLab, of Escondido, California, d...

Jeff Sieve is New CEO for Haag-Streit USA

Swiss company Haag-Streit Group announced Dec. 15 that Jeff Sieve is the new chief executive officer for Haag-Streit USA, a subsidiary based in Mason, Ohio, that manages sales and service in the US...

Aerie Names Raj Kannan as CEO

Aerie Pharmaceuticals announced Dec. 16 that Raj Kannan had been appointed as chief executive officer and a director of the board. The Durham, North Carolina, company said Kannan’s track record inc...

Novartis to Acquire Gene Therapy Company Gyroscope for $800 Million Up Front

Swiss company Novartis reported Dec. 22 that it had agreed to acquire UK-based ophthalmic gene therapy company Gyroscope Therapeutics. Gyroscope has been developing GT005, an AAV2-based one-time ge...

Ardian Sells Stake in Schwind to Adagia Partners

Ardian will sell its majority stake in ophthalmic device maker Schwind eye-tech-solutions GmbH to Adagia Partners, the France-based private equity firms announced Dec. 21. No financial details were...

Sight Sciences’ TearCare Receives US FDA Clearance for Dry Eye due to MGD

Sight Sciences, of Menlo Park, California, reported Dec. 22 that it had gained US FDA 510(k) clearance for its TearCare System as a treatment for meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD). TearCare is indi...

Harrow Acquires Four Approved Ophthalmic Drugs from Novartis

Harrow Health, of Nashville, Tennessee, reported Dec. 20 that it had acquired from Swiss company Novartis the exclusive US commercialization rights for four FDA-approved ophthalmic medicines. Under...

William Link, PhD, Steps Down from Role as Glaukos Chairman

Glaukos, of San Clemente, California, reported Dec. 20 that William Link, PhD, would retire as chairman of the company’s board at the end of 2021. Link has served as chairman since June 2001. Thoma...

ProQR Doses First Patients in Phase II/III Pivotal Trials of QR-421a in Usher Syndrome

Netherlands-based ProQR Therapeutics announced Dec. 16 that the first patients had been dosed in the Phase II/III SIRIUS and CELESTE trials of its investigational RNA therapy QR-421a for people wit...

US FDA Grants Orphan Drug Designation for Mitotech’s Visomitin in LHON

Mitotech, of Luxembourg, announced Dec. 16 that the US FDA had granted orphan drug designation for the company’s topical cardiolipin peroxidation inhibitor candidate, Visomitin, for the treatment o...

Novartis Reports Year Two Results for Beovu in DME

Swiss drugmaker Novartis reported on Dec. 9 results from year two (week 100) of the Phase III KESTREL study of Beovu (brolucizumab) 6 mg in diabetic macular edema (DME). DME would be the second ind...

Belkin Vision Selected to Receive $19.8 Million from EU Innovation Council Accelerator

Israeli startup Belkin Vision announced Dec. 20 that it had been chosen to receive €17.5 million (US $19.8 million) in grants and equity financing from the European Innovation Council Accelerator. ...

Aramis Biosciences Launches With $10.5 Million Series A Financing

Aramis Biosciences launched Dec. 15 with the completion of a $10.5 million Series A financing led by Safar Partners, with a strategic investment from an unnamed “global leader” in ophthalmic pharma...

Endogena Completes $29 Million Series A Funding to Advance RP, GA Candidates

Swiss company Endogena Therapeutics announced Dec. 13 that it had completed a $29 million Series A financing round, with Rejuveron Life Sciences, also of Switzerland, boosting its investment by $20...

Genentech, Lineage to Partner on Future Development of OpRegen RPE Cell Therapy

Lineage Cell Therapeutics announced Dec. 20 that it had entered into an exclusive worldwide collaboration and license agreement with Genentech, a member of the Roche group, for the development and ...

Moorfields Patient Receives First 3D-Printed Prosthetic Eye

UK-based Moorfields Eye Hospital announced Nov. 25 that one of its patients was the first in the world to receive a fully digital 3D-printed prosthetic eye earlier that day. The patient was identif...

Novaliq Reports Positive Topline Results from Second Phase III Trial of CyclASol in Dry Eye

Novaliq, of Heidelberg, Germany, reported positive topline results Dec. 21 in the second pivotal Phase III trial (ESSENCE-2) of its dry eye drug candidate CyclASol. CyclASol is a topical, anti-infl...

Laszlo Bito, PhD, Developer of Latanoprost for Glaucoma, Dies at 87

Laszlo Bito, PhD, who played a leading role in the development of latanaprost for glaucoma, died Nov. 14, 2021, at his home in Budapest, Hungary, the Washington Post reported. Dr. Bito was 87. The ...

Haag-Streit Slit Lamp Competition Draws 179 Entries

Switzerland-based Haag-Streit Diagnostics’ 2021 slit lamp competition, held during the summer, drew 179 images from around the world. Dimitrii Samsonov, from the Irkutsk Branch of the S. Fyodorov E...

Aldeyra’s Reproxalap Fails to Meet Redness Endpoint; Second Phase III Trial in Dry Eye Adjusted

Aldeyra Therapeutics reported Dec. 20 that its dry eye candidate reproxalap failed to meet its primary endpoint of reduction in ocular redness in its Phase III TRANQUILITY trial. Statistical signif...

CES Names Heru’s Diagnostic Platform as Innovation Awards Nominee

Miami-based Heru announced Nov. 19 that its re:Vive wearable diagnostic exam software had been named a CES 2022 Innovation Awards nominee in the virtual and augmented reality category. The annual c...

OcuDoc Names Grady Lenski as New CEO

Ophthalmic medical technology startup OcuDoc reported Dec. 2 that it had appointed Grady Lenski as its new chief executive officer. The Columbus, Ohio, company is developing OcuDoc Mobile, a standa...

Carl Zeiss Meditec Posts Fiscal Year 2020/21 Revenue of $1.9 Billion

Carl Zeiss Meditec reported Dec. 10 that its fiscal year 2020/21 revenue totaled €1.65 billion ($1.85 billion), a record amount and a 23.3 percent increase over €1.34 billion the previous year. Rev...

Santen Expands License Agreement with Aerie for Rhopressa and Rocklatan

Japanese drugmaker Santen has expanded its exclusive license agreement with Aerie Pharmaceuticals for glaucoma drugsRhopressa and Rocklatan in a deal potentially worth more than $165 million. The e...

US FDA Accepts Ocugen’s IND for Retinal Gene Therapy Candidate

Ocugen announced Dec. 9 that the US FDA had accepted the company’s investigational new drug (IND) application to initiate a first-in-human Phase I/II trial of its gene therapy candidate for retinit...

Ophthalmologists Report 23.2 Percent Increase in Q3-2021 Procedure Volume Year Over Year

US ophthalmologists reported that ophthalmic procedures increased 23.2 percent in Q3-2021 compared with the same quarter in 2020, according to Market Scope’s latest surveys. Year-over-year performa...

OKYO Says its Anti-inflammatory Dry Eye Candidate Also Reduces Ocular Pain

OKYO Pharma, of London, announced Dec. 13 that its first drug candidate, OK-101, developed to treat dry eye disease as an anti-inflammatory, also showed potent ocular pain reducing properties in a ...

Spark Therapeutics Funds Two Fellowships in Ophthalmic Genetics

Spark Therapeutics, a pioneer in gene therapy with its development of Luxturna, will fund two fellowship positions in ophthalmic genetics, with an emphasis on inherited retinal diseases, at the Ame...

Nicox Raises $16.9 Million in Private Placement

French company Nicox announced Dec. 9 that it had raised €15 million (US $16.9 million) through a private placement of 6 million new ordinary shares. Warrants issued in the private placement could ...

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