Retina Round-Up: Samuel Barone

At recently concluded conference meetings, such as EURETINA and AAO, there was definitely a sense that a new wave of innovative therapies is about to crest. A tremendous amount of work is being done in late-phase trials, building on the success of the current standard of care and utilizing novel targets and administration procedures to potentially improve vision outcomes or decrease the treatment burden. There are programs restoring vision like the PRIMA retinal implant by Science Corporation, and a recent article in The Ophthalmologist by Allen C. Ho Director of Retina Research and Co-Director of the Retina Service at Wills Eye Hospital and Chief Medical Advisor of Nanoscope Therapeutics, details some of the work going on around neuroprotection via mitochondrial stabilization, the inhibition of complement, and the regulation of other cell death pathways.

While efforts such as these are relevant to a variety of commonly seen diseases like age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and glaucoma, what I find most impactful is that several of the innovative therapies on the near horizon are aiming to address rare diseases that often have no approved treatments. At this year’s AAO Meeting in Chicago, Allen Ho presented positive two-year results from the phase IIb RESTORE randomized, controlled clinical trial (RCT) of Nanoscope’s lead program, MCO-010, showing vision gain >3-line equivalent in patients with advanced retinitis pigmentosa severe vision loss no better than counting fingers.

It is an exciting time in retina, with so much innovative thinking and potential new therapies on the brink of availability. I am sure you will enjoy this issue and our coming ability to bring back the light of hope to many of our patients.