Ophthalmic

Medtech Insight spoke with Vicky Demas, CEO of Identifeye, about plans for bringing the company’s AI-powered retinal screening system for early detection of diabetic retinopathy to primary care facilities. More than 50% of the roughly 38 million Americans who have diabetes skip retinal screenings at present, increasing risk of developing the leading cause of blindness in adults.

The company is developing the drug as a way to reduce injection burden for wet AMD patients and plans to meet with the US FDA early next year to discuss Phase IIb topline results.

Regenerative Processing replaces nozzle to prevent backflow for its Regener-Eyes drops but FDA warning states numerous questions about sterility at the firm’s plant and about its procedures and systems for preventing microbial contamination.

After launching Retaine MGD Advanced, OcuSoft says a release by Bruder Healthcare referenced Retaine MGD trademark and statements from a previous OcuSoft announcement about the original product attributed to an optometrist. B+L, Rohto brand and homeopathic firm Relief Products also make US OTC eye care space moves.

This week, Establishment Labs Holdings announced the FDA gave it premarket approval for Motiva breast implant, Cologuard lands FDA approval for Cologuard Plus and GE HealthCare gets FDA nod for a new imaging agent. The FDA announces another expansion for TAP into ophthalmology and radiology. The AAMI and CTA will join forces to develop standards for AI and ML-enabled health care products.  

The dual agonist of the FP and EP3 receptors has shown efficacy in a Japanese Phase III trial and completed its US Phase II study, which aligns with the Japanese firm’s global expansion strategy for glaucoma products.

The European Medicines Agency has recommended the pan-EU approval of three rare disease drugs: Pfizer’s Hympavzi, Henlius Biotech’s Hetronify and ImmunoGen’s Elahere in addition to five other new medicines.

New hi-tech labs in Basel are aimed at boosting Roche’s R&D productivity, but despite streamlining in San Francisco, its twin-track drug discovery with Genentech will remain.

Results from the Phase III THRIVE trial in active thyroid eye disease had analysts calling veligrotug “best-in-class” as they anticipate results from THRIVE-2 in chronic TED later this year.

Days after Sandoz received US FDA approval for its Enzeevu aflibercept biosimilar, Regeneron sued alleging that Sandoz failed to follow the “patent dance” set out in the BPCIA framework and claiming infringement of multiple patents on its Eylea.