Hello
Colleague:
We invite you to review Ora’s November 2011 ophthalmology news by clicking on the links
below.
| Glaucoma
and Dry Eye: A Tough Combo |
 As
our patients age, an increased interest and heightened awareness of the changes occurring
on the ocular surface is necessary. It’s not uncommon in this older patient population
to see age-related changes on the ocular surface that affect the protective and nutrient
functions of the tear film. These changes can include laxity of the lids, dropout of the
meibomian glands, decrease in goblet cells and an increase in dry eye related to a decrease
in acinar cells of both the main and accessory lacrimal glands. In fact, aging itself is
a drying process. A decrease in body water in the elderly makes them susceptible to dehydration,
and can play a factor in initiating or exacerbating ocular surface disease symptoms such
as dryness, burning, stinging, grittiness and foreign body sensation.
October 2011 - Review of Ophthalmology
Author: Mark B. Abelson, MD, CM, FRCSC,
FARVO, and Ashley Lafond, Andover, Mass.
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|
| Clinical
Trials in the Anti-VEGF Era |
| The efficacy of the intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor
(anti-VEGF) agents ranibizumab (Lucentis, Genentech) and bevacizumab (Avastin, Genentech)
has revolutionized the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Historically,
treatments for wet AMD, such as macular photocoagulation, verteporfin photodynamic therapy
(Visudyne PDT, QLT), and pegaptanib sodium (Macugen, Eyetech), the first intravitreal anti-
VEGF therapy to be approved, were only able to slow the rate of vision loss in a subset of
wet AMD patients.
September 2011 - RETINA TODAY
Author: ARON SHAPIRO, PETER L. SONKIN,
MD, ROBERT E. LEONARD II, MD
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| In
the Blink of an Eye |
 Picture
driving down the freeway in your Mercedes Benz S-600 after a long day of treating patients.
You didn’t get enough sleep last night and you feel fatigue start to set in. Your eyes
water, you blink faster, your head starts to nod… Beep, beep, beep! A set of alarms start
ringing and you’re jolted back to reality—you almost fell asleep at the wheel. Now,
how did your car know this?
September 2011 |Review of Cornea and Contact Lenses
Author: Mark B. Abelson, M.D., C.M., and
Caroline Tobey
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November
2011
Ora has room to grow advancing allergy treatments
Ora, a 30-year-old family-owned life sciences services business in Andover, is expanding its
reach with the launch of an innovative tool to help pharmaceutical companies advance drug research
for allergy treatments.
The company’s $3 million Allergen Biocube, set to open next week in Middleton, is a living-room-size
chamber that pipes in air filled with common allergens, to produce symptoms in clinical trial
patients with seasonal or year-round allergies.
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The past two decades have seen a series of microbial “epidemics” due to endemic protozoans in the genus Acanthamoeba. In the eye, these organisms can cause a keratitis which is difficult to diagnose, resistant to treatment and has the potential to be sight-threatening. While the infection caused by Acanthamoeba is often associated with contact lens use, particularly in Western countries, a retrospective assessment of outbreaks suggests that there are a number of factors involved in the epidemiology of Acanthamoeba keratitis. In this month’s column, we’ll take a look at recent AK outbreaks, consider the relative importance of various factors implicated in these outbreaks, and discuss the latest approaches to AK diagnosis and treatment.
From 2005 to 2006, Fusarium keratitis gained notoriety when a fungal infection outbreak was associated with a certain contact lens solution. Though the incidence of fungal keratitis has since decreased, certain studies suggest that infection rates may once again spike due to an increase in the contact lens-wearing population and the rising trend of using multipurpose solutions, which have been shown to be less effective than peroxide systems.
A look at the advantages and disadvantages of time-honored methods as well as new techniques and devices.
How
do you describe a good tear film? Put simply, a good tear film is sticky on the bottom,
juicy in the middle and greasy on top. While this may be an oversimplification, it’s
also a good way to start a conversation about mucins—a vital component of a healthy ocular
surface.
Later
this month, Dr. Mark Abelson, Ora's Chairman and Chief Scientific Officer, will join a panel
titled “Benefit vs. Risk at the FDA - How Does the FDA Judge and How Can Companies
Plan?” at the Ophthalmology Innovation Summit’s (OIS) 3rd annual meeting in Orlando,
FL on October 20th, 2011. The day-long meeting will be held immediately prior to the American
Academy of Ophthalmology’s annual meeting.
In
this month’s column we’ll discuss the topic of therapeutic non-responders and,
in the process, touch on noteworthy aspects of drug development, drug metabolism and the
genetic underpinnings of some of the examples of therapeutic non-responders we’re familiar
with, and some new ones as well.
The
French novelist Marcel Proust once wrote, "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking
new landscapes but in having new eyes." Ocular allergy researchers are gaining a new perspective
on an old problem with the recent discovery of a new addition to the histamine receptor family:
the H4 histamine receptors.
Ora,
Inc., the world’s leading independent ophthalmic research firm, announced today that
it is expanding its newest clinical model, the Allergen BioCube (ABC) System, and building
a new facility in response to increased demand for allergic rhinitis programs.
