- Johnson & Johnson has announced an agreement to acquire Abbott Medical Optics for US$4.325 billion. The acquisition will include Abbott’s surgical ophthalmic portfolio, featuring products for cataract and refractive surgery, and consumer eye health.
- Health Canada approves STAAR Surgical’s EVO Visian Toric ICL for distribution in Canada, and Heidelberg Engineering receive FDA approval to market their Spectralis OCT Glaucoma Module Premium Edition.
- Carl Zeiss Meditec received FDA approval for its VisuMax SMILE vision correction procedure, and is conducting a clinical trial to aid the expansion of SMILE for the treatment of astigmatic myopia in the US. The company also recently appointed a new lead of Global Sales for Ophthalmic Devices, Andrew Ihan Chang, formerly General Manager and Senior Vice President for Bausch + Lomb Surgical.
- Aerie Pharmaceuticals has reported positive three-month efficacy results from the Mercury 1 study of Roclatan, its once-daily eyedrop for the treatment of glaucoma. The drug performed statistically better than two alternatives, latanoprost and Rhopressa, and Aerie has now submitted a new drug application to the US FDA.
- AcuFocus has received a private investment of around US$66 million, following a financing round led by KKR, a global investment firm. AcuFocus plans to accelerate the commercialization of the KAMRA inlay, the IC-8 lens, and its R&D projects.
- Rayner has acquired Moorfields Pharmaceuticals from Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust for an undisclosed price, for the purpose of launching a specialist ophthalmic pharmaceuticals division.
- Regeneron announced 12-week results from their phase II CAPELLA study that compared aflibercept co-formulated with the PDGF-inhibitor rinucumab, with aflibercept alone for the treatment of patients with neovascular AMD. In terms of BCVA, the combination therapy and monotherapy groups achieved mean letter improvements of 5.8 and 7.5 letters, respectively. Retinal thickness reduction, the resolution of sub-retinal hyper-reflective material and ocular adverse event rates were also better with aflibercept monotherapy.
I have an extensive academic background in the life sciences, having studied forensic biology and human medical genetics in my time at Strathclyde and Glasgow Universities. My research, data presentation and bioinformatics skills plus my ‘wet lab’ experience have been a superb grounding for my role as a deputy editor at Texere Publishing. The job allows me to utilize my hard-learned academic skills and experience in my current position within an exciting and contemporary publishing company.
