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A new collaboration between Oxford BioMedica and Sanofi-Aventis is to develop and commercialise gene therapy treatments for retinal degenerative diseases such as Stargardt disease, the form of early-onset macular degeneration and Usher syndrome, a relatively rare genetic disease where sufferers are born deaf and lose vision within the first 10 years of life.

Ophthotech Corp. has announced positive results of a phase I clinical study evaluating E10030, its novel anti-platelet derived growth factor (anti-PDGF) in conjunction with an anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF), to treat wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD).

Merck & Co., Inc. and Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., have agreed a worldwide licensing agreement for tafluprost, a prostaglandin analogue under investigation in the US.

Patients suffering from AMD have experienced long-term benefits from using the Macular Health vitamin supplement following the second phase of the Multifocal Electroretinogram (MERG) study at the Callahan Eye Foundation Hospital at the University of Alabama Birmingham (US).

An OTEurope story we ran a couple of weeks ago clearly resonated with reader, Peter Raus in Belgium. Read on to see what he thought.

Visiogen is reporting significant progress in the development of the Synchrony IOL, including the completion of the US phase III study, the formation of Visiogen Europe GmbH and the commencement of commercialization in Europe.

From Facebook to Twitter, individuals are embracing the opportunity to participate in online publishing at an unprecendented rate. Communities of users interact globally, minute-to-minute within huge databases of content that they themselves create.

The training component of the Mercy Vision programme, onboard the world's largest non-governmental hospital ship, is to receive $50,000 from the Alcon Foundation.

When injecting silicone oils with a viscosity of 5000 mPas, which are used frequently, retinal surgeons often reach limits of applicability.

“As we move into the 21st century the role of the IOL will evolve allowing better outcomes in cataract surgery and find new roles in surgery to improve vision such as through the treatment of presbyopia.”

New guidelines, designed to improve the management and diagnosis of chronic open angle glaucoma (COAG) and ocular hypertension have received a cautious commendation from the ophthalmic community.

Ultralase has become the first and only national provider to have all its UK surgeons accredited by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists (RCOphth).

The pioneering stem cell therapy, developed by British researchers to tackle AMD, has received the financial backing of pharma giant, Pfizer Inc., which is expected to pump in £50 million over the next three to five years.

You're an ophthalmologist? You use social media? Will Twitter change the way doctors practice medicine?

Six doctors are the recipients of the Alcon Research Institute (ARI) awards for their outstanding research contributions in the field of ophthalmology and vision science.

The Visante omni is the first system to combine OCT and Placido disk technologies, providing comprehensive anterior and posterior topography for improved patient selection and care.

From Facebook to Twitter, individuals are embracing the opportunity to participate in online publishing at an unprecedented rate. Communities of users interact globally, minute-to-minute within huge databases of content that they themselves create.

A worldwide licensing agreement for tafluprost, preserved and preservative-free formulations, has been announced between Merck & Co Inc., and Santen Pharmaceutical Co Ltd.

Interim analysis of Phase II trials for fenretinide and its use in the treatment of geographic atrophy (GA) are looking positive, according to Sirion Therapeutics, Inc.

Significant improvement in signs and symptoms in patients suffering from moderate-to-severe dry eye syndrome have been found following the Phase II trial of Cyclokat, the formulation of cyclosporine by French pharmaceutical ophthalmic company Novagali Pharma.

The side effects of an experimental 'gene-silencing' treatment that is currently being investigated for a variety of diseases could be useful in corneal transplantation, where growth of new blood and lymph vessels is believed to be a major cause of graft failure.

Positive interim data results from the Phase II trial of OT-551 to treat geographic atrophy (GA), an advanced form of AMD, have been announced by Othera Pharmaceuticals Inc.

1.25 million neurons view the world through receptive fields, which operate like a multi-layered jigsaw puzzle. Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies imply that the nervous system operates with higher precision than previously appreciated, and that apparent irregularities in individual cells may actually be coordinated and more finely tuned.

The first ophthalmic surgery in Europe using the CE mark approved I-SIPxAE Adherent Ocular Bandage was conducted in the UK by Dr Daniel Calladine and Mr Richard Packard.

The Schepens Eye Research Institute has found that retinal dysfunction may be caused by blocking the growth factor TGF-beta. The research may have an important impact on the prevention and treatment of diabetic retinopathy and macular degeneration.

"Recognising the trend amongst European ophthalmologists to sub-specialise has been a high priority for the European Society of Ophthalmology," its president Gabriel van Rij told Ophthalmology Times Europe.

"When treating patients with DME, ophthalmologists should consider the role of the glitazone class of drugs," warn the authors of a study published in the April issue of the American Journal of Ophthalmology.

Scientists at New York's Rochester University say that playing violent video games may improve contrast sensitivity, which is often impaired by amblyopia.

The premarket application for VisionCare Ophthalmic Technologies Inc's implantable telescope for end-stage AMD has been approved, with conditions, by the FDA in the US.