aflibercept sustained release (OTX-IVT) / Ocular Therap - LARVOL DELTA

Ocular Therapeutix Announces Termination of the Collaboration with Regeneron to Develop a Sustained-Release Formulation of Aflibercept for the Treatment of Wet AMD and other Serious Retinal Diseases (Businesswire) - "Ocular Therapeutix, Inc...announced that Regeneron has terminated the option and license agreement collaboration between the companies. The termination became effective August 5, 2021."

Licensing / partnership • Diabetic Macular Edema • Ophthalmology • Wet Age-related Macular Degeneration

Notal Vision Launches First U.S. Home OCT Longitudinal Study with Patient Self-operated Device (Streetinsider.com) - "'Remote OCT monitoring of wet AMD patients has the potential to personalize anti-VEGF treatment and improve outcomes while minimizing treatment burden by reducing the number of office visits,' said Jeffrey S. Heier, MD...'The importance and potential benefit of such an approach is even more important now in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.'"

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No Difference in Vision Using Anti-VEGF or Surgical Approach for Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy - "'There have been major advances in surgical technology and technique since the initial studies that evaluated surgical treatment of PDR,' said Jennifer Sun...'This latest DRCR Retina Network study lets us understand how outcomes in the modern era of retinal surgery compare to treatment with intraocular anti-VEGF injections for vitreous hemorrhage from PDR.'"

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Surgery Equals Drug Treatment for Bleeding in Diabetic Retinopathy (Medscape) - '"For patients who are experiencing visual loss from bleeding due to proliferative diabetic retinopathy, these strategies are both excellent treatments and can improve and then preserve visual acuity over six months to two years,' senior author Jennifer Sun, MD...said in a press statement. 'But there are some subtleties to this study that will help clinicians tailor their treatment plans for an individual patient,' added Sun....However, this new study shows that 'both clinical approaches have benefits and risks, and physicians treating patients with vitreous hemorrhage from proliferative diabetic retinopathy can and should personalize the initial therapeutic choice based on individual patient circumstances and influencing factors,' Sun and colleagues write."

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Safety and Biocompatibility of Aflibercept-Loaded Microsphere Thermo-Responsive Hydrogel Drug Delivery System in a Nonhuman Primate Model. (PubMed, Transl Vis Sci Technol) - "Intravitreally injected aflibercept-DDS achieved controlled, sustained release of aflibercept with no adverse effects for up to 6 months in the eyes of healthy rhesus macaques. Aflibercept-DDS may be a more effective method to deliver bioactive antivascular endothelial growth factor agents than current practice by reducing the frequency of intravitreal injections and providing controlled drug release."

Clinical • Journal • Ophthalmology