Christina Y. Weng

About Christina Y. Weng

What is the most exciting thing happening in retina right now?

The retina world is bursting with exciting possibilities! If I had to pick one thing that fascinates me the most right now, it’s not actually a specific drug or treatment modality; rather, it’s the incessant reach for better – finding new treatments for blinding diseases, developing therapies with superior efficacy, creating platforms for safer surgery, and coupling artificial intelligence with imaging technology for next-level detection capabilities. Earlier this year, the first treatment for macular telangiectasia type 2 was approved for this once-untreatable condition. Just one year ago, the first home OCT system was cleared for use by patients with macular degeneration. Today, we have gene therapy for RPE65-associated retinal dystrophy along with dozens of other gene therapy candidates in the pipeline that could transform treatment for other orphan diseases like achromatopsia and X-linked retinitis pigmentosa as well as our most common retinal pathologies. And there are dozens of other drugs in the pipeline – tyrosine kinase inhibitors, VEGF-C/D inhibitors, mitochondrial modulators, and much more – that may offer longer durability, meaningful visual improvements, and earlier disease intervention. Innovation abounds, and the future is bright for our community and our patients!

Make a bold prediction for the future of retina treatment

The future of retina treatment will step into the era of personalized medicine. We have come an incredible way over the past two decades in terms of therapeutic options; for example, we now have over a dozen approved agents for wet macular degeneration with many more expected to enter the market in coming years. On a whole, they are all effective; what we aren’t able to do yet is determine which therapy might work better for one patient versus another. The ability to utilize imaging biomarkers, aqueous sampling, or genetic testing to gain insight into the individual’s unique disease profile will be increasingly important as more and more drugs are available. In addition to becoming more sophisticated with drug selection, AI-assisted technologies such as home OCT may also facilitate customized treatment schedules for patients. Imagine a time when patients would receive an anti-VEGF injection when – and only when – their disease is active. We are not far off from this, and important clinical trials such as Protocol AO from the DRCR Retina Network will be critical in taking us to the next level of individualized patient care.

TL, DR? Then my bet’s on personalized medicine – circle back in 10 years and hold me to it!