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According to the company, results showed “a meaningful clinical improvement in ocular surface health” and significance for both staining end points at day 15.

Iolyx Therapeutics releases phase 2 results for ILYX-002 in autoimmune-associated dry eye disease

Alcon’s dry eye candidate acoltremon 0.003% is a first-in-class thermoreceptor agonist, which stimulates corneal sensory nerves to increase natural tear production to treat the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease.

FDA approves Alcon’s Tryptyr (AR-15512) for signs and symptoms of dry eye disease

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Bridgitte Shen Lee, OD, FAAO, FBCLA, FEAOO, ponders about what she would like to see develop as both a researcher and a clinician in the dry eye space.

What's on the clinical wishlist for dry eye with Dr Bridgitte Shen Lee

In this Q&A, John D. Gelles, OD, and Steven Greenstein, MD, chat about what inspired them to launch the symposium, what makes this year’s agenda especially exciting, and why the future of refractive care depends on stronger collaboration between ODs and MDs.

Bridging disciplines and elevating care: A Q&A with John Gelles, OD, and Steven Greenstein, MD

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Dr. Ondrias is the executive director at the Mann Eye Institute and Laser Center with nine locations in greater Houston and Austin, TX.

The landscape of cataract surgery has changed rapidly-first with premium intraocular lenses (IOLs) and now additional refractive cataract options such as laser-assisted cataract surgery (LACS) and intraoperative aberrometry.

Integrating laser cataract surgery

Let My Doctors Decide Action Network’s (LMDD AN) new national scorecard has exposed disparities in insurance coverage for serious and rare eye diseases.

 The LMDD Eye Health Scorecard specifically evaluated insurance coverage for treatments addressing geographic atrophy (GA), neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and thyroid eye disease, according to a news release.

The scorecard thus highlighted the fact that millions of American patients face barriers to accessing life-changing treatments based on their health plan.

“Despite medical advancements, many patients are still trapped in a system where access depends on the luck of their insurance card,” said Brett McReynolds, policy adviser for LMDD AN, in the release. “We urge policymakers, insurers, and health care leaders to break down these harmful, unnecessary barriers and prioritize patient health over administrative red tape.”

Some of the findings from the scorecard include Medicaid plans having the greatest restrictions and Medicare plans having the fewest access restrictions overall. Approximately 70% of state Medicaid plans received an “F” grade across all conditions assessed. Access for patients with Managed Medicaid plans was slightly better, even though a majority of plans received a “C” or “F” score for their coverage of all conditions included. Additionally, traditional Medicare received an “A” grade for nearly 100% of its plans for all conditions where treatments were administered under the medical benefit. Even with more restrictions imposed in the Medicare Advantage plans, a majority of said plans received either “A” or “B” grades for all conditions.

Other findings from the scorecard revealed a significant variation in coverage and access by disease condition and plan type, and about half of Commercial, Health Exchange, and Medicaid plans received either “C” or “D” grades. On average, beneficiaries of Commercial, Health Exchange, and Medicaid plans experience at least 2 access restrictions on average.

The scorecard underscored that most patients experience restrictive insurance policies, including authorization, onerous step therapy, and high cost-sharing, which can delay or limit access to prescribed treatments.

“For patients battling serious and rare eye conditions, timely access to treatment isn’t a luxury—it’s a lifeline to prevent permanent and irreversible vision loss,” said Molly Murray, president and CEO of the Autoimmune Association, in the release. “The results expose a health care system that is failing to meet its most fundamental promise: providing care when and where it’s needed.”

The scorecard was compiled by analyzing thousands of private, Medicare, and Medicaid health plans across the US and was developed in partnership with health care research firm MMIT, which provided data for the scorecard. The evaluation focused on US Food and Drug Administration-approved treatments for the 4 conditions and assessed coverage under both medical benefit and pharmacy benefit, or drugs administered in a doctor’s office and medications dispensed through a pharmacy. Plans were given a numeric score of 0 to 4, with higher scores reflecting larger barriers to access based on the presence of step therapy, prior authorization, and/or placement on a plan’s specialty tier. Those numerical scores were then converted into letter grades.

“Without adequate and timely insurance coverage, patients living with debilitating, rare eye diseases face devastating, life-altering consequences—not just loss of vision, but also loss of independence, employment, and quality of life,” said Jeff Todd, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness, in the release. “The LMDD Eye Health Scorecard findings underscore the urgent need for policy and regulatory reforms to ensure equitable access to sight-saving treatments, with limited barriers between diagnosis and treatment delivery.”

New eye health scorecard reveals gaps in treatment across insurance plans. News release. Let My Doctors Decide Action Network. May 22, 2025. Accessed May 22, 2025.

The LMDD Eye Health Scorecard specifically evaluated insurance coverage for treatments addressing GA, neovascular AMD, and thyroid eye disease.

New national scorecard exposes insurance coverage disparities for vision-threatening disease treatments

At this year’s ARVO annual meeting, 2 posters presenting data initiated by SightGlass highlighted the growing body of clinical evidence supporting the use of 

. Debbie Laughton, BSc, PhD, provided expert commentary on 2 significant studies: CYPRESS, a 4-year, multicenter clinical trial in North America, and a complementary study conducted across 5 sites in China. Together, these studies not only reaffirm the safety and efficacy of DOT lenses in slowing myopia progression but also address key concerns such as rebound effects post treatment and effectiveness across diverse populations.

In the following Q&A, Laughton discusses the methodologies, clinical relevance, and broader implications of these studies, offering valuable guidance for optometrists already managing pediatric myopia, as well as those considering expanding their scope of care in response to rising global prevalence.

For those who weren’t able to attend ARVO this year, can you detail the parameters and methods of the research featured in this poster?

Poster #1: CYPRESS, our pivotal 4-year multicenter clinical trial, demonstrated DOT lenses are safe and effective at slowing the progression of myopia in a population of North American children. Children enrolled in CYPRESS were invited to join a follow-up study, BIRCH, to evaluate whether there is an acceleration of myopia progression or ‘rebound effect’ following the cessation of DOT lens treatment. Twelve months after ceasing treatment, refraction and axial length reverted to age-normative rates, indicating no significant rebound effect.

Poster #2: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of DOT spectacle lenses in a Chinese population, where the prevalence and severity of myopia is even greater, a new study was initiated at 5 sites in China. The first 12-month results were presented at ARVO and demonstrated excellent safety and efficacy of DOT lenses, slowing myopia progression by 75%.

How did the actual performance of the DOT lenses compare to your expectations?

DOT lenses performed as expected, significantly slowing myopia progression and demonstrating no evidence of rebound effect once treatment was stopped.

This study took place in China. What does this mean for eye care providers in the US? How does this build upon Cypress?

The first-year results from our study in China support the outcomes from the North American (CYPRESS) clinical trial. Eye care providers can feel confident that DOT lenses effectively slow myopia progression in children from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, demonstrating consistent results across both Asian and North American populations.

What are the next steps in this research?

We have presented the interim results from our study in China, and we will be continuing this study for another 2 years to evaluate longer-term efficacy among Chinese children.

What immediately applicable clinical advice does this research yield, especially for optometrists who practice myopia management? What about doctors who see pediatric patients but

Based on these results, eye care professionals can feel confident in the performance and lasting impact of DOT lenses to slow myopia progression in their pediatric patients.

What was the response to these findings at the meeting? How do you think this research fits into the broader landscape of clinical research presented at ARVO, especially this session?

Myopia continues to be a hot topic in optometry, and the myopia poster sessions were incredibly busy. There was a lot of interest in the performance of DOT lenses and a clear demand from eye care professionals from the US to have access to spectacle lens myopia management technologies (DOT lenses are for investigational use only in the US). The theme of contrast reduction for myopia control was discussed during several other paper and poster sessions, showing the growing interest in contrast management. An education session led by Professor James Wolffsohn also explored the suggestion that all defocus-based optical interventions may operate via contrast management.

New data from North American and Chinese clinical trials reinforce the safety, efficacy, and durability of DOT lenses in slowing pediatric myopia progression, without evidence of rebound. 

Pipeline

Clinical trial Q&A: New data on DOT lenses show strong global performance in myopia control

Bridgitte Shen Lee, OD, FAAO, FBCLA, FEAOO, details the key takeaways from a poster presentation she participated in during ARVO 2025.

ARVO 2025: Miebo demonstrates favorable tolerability in prescription refill rates

In detailing a poster presentation given on perfluorohexyloctane (PFHO) (Miebo) on a dry eye disease treatment, Bridgitte Shen Lee, OD, FAAO, FBCLA, FEAOO, highlighted 2 key takeaways from the research. The first takeaway emphasizes the study's robust methodology. The demographic and prescription characteristics between the 2 patient groups were remarkably similar, providing a representative sample of dry eye disease patients. Shen Lee underscores that dry eye disease is complex, multifactorial, chronic, and progressive, with patients often experiencing multiple ocular surface conditions simultaneously. 

The second key focus was on the medication's refill rate, which serves as a practical indicator of patient tolerance and satisfaction. PFHO, a 100% chemical molecule without water or preservatives, demonstrated exceptional patient adherence. According to Shen Lee, PFHO had a 70.7% refill rate, whereas 0.05% cyclosporine had a 43.4% refill rate. This represents a significant difference of almost 30% in patient continuation. The low refill rate for cyclosporine suggests patients may have experienced more adverse effects or found the medication less comfortable. In contrast, PFHO's high refill rate indicates superior patient tolerance. 

Shen Lee also provided context about dry eye treatment options, noting there are only 4 FDA-approved immune modulator medications. PFHO represents an important addition to this limited category, offering physicians and patients another treatment alternative. Shen Lee underscored that the research was a collaborative effort, sponsored by Bausch + Lomb and involving multiple medical professionals. She concluded by acknowledging the complexity of dry eye conditions and the importance of developing well-tolerated, effective medications. The study's findings suggest PFHO could be a promising new option for patients struggling with dry eye disease, offering potentially better tolerance and patient adherence compared with existing treatments.

A recent study has shown the potential role artificial intelligence (AI) systems could play in diabetic retinopathy (DR) screenings. Study authors, led by Hasan Nawaz Tahir, MS, of the Department of Community Medicine at both the College of Medicine, Dwadimi, Shaqra University in Shaqra, Saudi Arabia, and the Khyber Medical College Peshawar in Peshawar, Pakistan, found in their systematic review and meta-analysis that the systems were able to achieve high sensitivity and specificity values, particularly in undilated eye screenings.

“These results highlight that AI systems, especially in undilated eye conditions, show promise for clinical use with reliable sensitivity and specificity, but variations exist depending on the system and clinical setting,” the study authors stated.

Researchers conducted a literature search for AI and manual screening methods of DR using PubMed and Google Scholar in order to identify relevant studies to include in the research that was published between January 2015 and September 2024. A second search was then done on February 2025, in which 13 additional studies were added to make a total of 25 included studies. Those that were included were categorized by whether they were observational or validation. Studies that were included evaluated AI algorithms or manual screenings for DR in patients from 15 to 90 years old that were diagnosed with DR and reported sensitivity and specificity outcomes for either dilated or undilated eye conditions, according to researchers. Risk of bias was assessed using the QUADAS-2 tool for validation studies, the AXIS tool for cross-sectional studies, and the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale for cohort studies. They were also assessed for quality by 2 independent reviewers to evaluation selection bias, outcome/exposure assessment bias, follow-up bias, measurement bias, sample representativeness, reporting bias, index test bias, reference standard bias, flow and timing bias, and ethical considerations bias. Studies that were excluded were those that did not report the outcomes of interest, if the author of the studies did not respond to interest queries, or if the full text was not available to the study authors.

In total, 613,690 images used for screening were included in the study. For undilated eyes, AI screening had a pooled sensitivity of 0.90 [95% CI: 0.85-0.94] and pooled specificity of 0.94 [95% CI: 0.91-0.96]. Manual screening images had a pooled sensitivity of 0.79 [95% CI: 0.60-0.91] and pooled specificity of 0.99 [95% CI: 0.98-0.99]. As for dilated eyes, the pooled sensitivity of AI screening is 0.95 [95% CI: 0.91-0.97] and pooled specificity is 0.87 [95% CI: 0.79-0.92]; dilated eyes with manual screening sensitivity is 0.90 [95% CI: 0.87-0.92] and specificity is 0.99 [95% CI: 0.99-1.00].

“AI-assisted screening for diabetic retinopathy shows comparable sensitivity and specificity compared to manual screening,” the study authors stated. “These results suggest that AI can be a reliable alternative in clinical settings, with increased early detection rates and reducing the burden on ophthalmologists.”

The study authors also made note of the heterogeneity in the studies included in terms of study settings, photographic protocols, and reference standards, with reference standards for manual grading differing across studies, among other limitations. The researchers also concluded that since some of the studies had a moderate risk of bias, which could lead to overestimation or underestimation of accuracy.

 “To ensure that AI systems are safe and effective for real-world use, evaluations need to be conducted in representative clinical settings. Systems should be tested on a wide range of image qualities, and medical settings,” the study authors noted.

Tahir HN, Ullah N, Tahir M, et al. Artificial intelligence versus manual screening for the detection of diabetic retinopathy: a comparative systematic review and meta-analysis. 

https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2025.1519768

In total, 613,690 images used for screening were included in the study.

AI systems demonstrate promising potential for DR screening, study finds

Susana Marcos, PhD, outlines a presentation she gave at ARVO 2025 on a unique utilization of optical coherence tomography.

ARVO 2025: OCT-based marker for accommodative effort in presbyopes

to discuss research that she presented at ARVO 2025 focusing on optical coherence tomography (OCT) markers for accommodative effort in presbyopes. The study utilized a custom-developed OCT technology specifically designed for high-speed, 3-dimensional imaging of the anterior segment of the eye. The research examined 3 groups of presbyopes: early, middle, and advanced, further subdivided into emmetropes and myopes. The primary goal was to identify how different parameters of the eye change during accommodative effort across these groups. Key findings revealed 3 primary parameters that change significantly during accommodation: lens thickness, anterior chamber depth, and pupil size.

"Over more than 100 years, scientists have been trying to understand the onset of presbyopia, how it progresses all the time, but also to learn more about accommodation," said Percy Lazon de la Jara, director of Research Programs for CooperVision and the paper's coauthor. "There have been hundreds of papers published around this topic. However, Dr Marcos' system gives us an additional hint because of this high technology that she's using to try to understand what previous studies couldn't find because of not having enough resolution to image the eye or to get images from OCT. So Susana's work is really interesting because she has OCT equipment that can image the front of the eye and the crystalline lens, and we can detect changes on the crystalline lens, movement, how it changed its shape, how it changed the radius, what happened to the pupil and to the anterior chamber of people suffering from presbyopia at different stages of life. So that makes it a really interesting area of research, and it can give us new hints about how the accommodative effort works and how it deteriorates over time."

Notably, the researchers discovered some unexpected results, such as a paradoxical increase in pupil diameter during accommodation. Due to this and other factors like illumination, they concluded that pupil size might not be the most reliable marker for accommodative effort. Lens thickness emerged as the most consistent and reliable marker across all presbyope groups. Even as presbyopia advanced, lens thickness demonstrated systematic changes during accommodative demands. Interestingly, myopes showed more pronounced changes compared with emmetropes, with higher slopes of lens thickness change and faster reaction times in dynamic measurements.

The researchers highlighted potential future applications of their findings, such as developing accommodating lenses or devices that could be triggered by measuring lens thickness. The custom OCT technology allows for unprecedented three-dimensional quantification of the crystalline lens, enabling measurements beyond traditional methods. Beyond this specific study, the OCT technology developed by Marcos has broader potential applications, including:

Studying lens changes in myopia development

The study represents a significant advancement in understanding accommodative effort and demonstrates the powerful diagnostic capabilities of advanced OCT imaging technologies.

For the fifth year in a row, VSP Vision has been selected as the 2025 US Best Managed Company Gold Standard award winner.

 The program, sponsored by Deloitte Private and The Wall Street Journal, works to recognize outstanding private companies in the US, according to a news release.

VSP was selected as the winner of the award by a panel of external judges.

“Receiving this award, with Gold Standard honors again, is a testament to our ongoing commitment to deliver purposeful growth and impact for our clients, members and network doctors,” said VSP Vision President and CEO Michael Guyette in the release. “As we also celebrate our 70

 anniversary this year, we’re reminded that achievements like these are the direct result of VSP’s unmatched culture of care, driven by our dedicated employees around the world.”

Additionally, VSP has received Gold Standard status for the second consecutive year through the program. This status is for companies that have received recognition through the program 4 or more times.

Additionally, VSP recently announced the release of “The Future of Oculomics,” a Futurist Report from the VSP Global Innovation Center. The report examines how the eye’s connection to the rest of the human body elevates eye care in the health care continuum outside of the specialty, according to a news release.

 Particularly, oculomics assess the association between ophthalmic biomarkers and systemic health and diseases states.

“The eye has long served as a window into full-body health. During a comprehensive eye exam, an optometrist can detect signs of more than 270 chronic conditions and diseases,” said Ruth Yomtoubian, vice president and head of the VSP Global Innovation Center, in the release. “Thanks to recent advancements in artificial intelligence, imaging technologies, and big data, the role of the eye and eye doctors in overall health is becoming even more significant.”

The report found that 87% of eye care providers were not familiar with the term “oculomics,” therefore classified as a new term in the field; however, 57% did report that they were already providing health insights beyond eye health. A majority (70%) of providers either strongly agreed or agreed that providing health insights that touch on health outside the eye can significantly enhance patient care.

However, eye care providers surveyed remain divided on the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in the field, with 33% either very comfortable or comfortable with AI assistance, 29% uncomfortable or very uncomfortable, and 28% neutral.

Additionally, a large majority (92%) of VSP Vision Care members surveyed either strongly agreed or agreed that eye examinations have the potential to provide valuable health insights beyond eye health. Of members surveyed, 82% reported that they were either comfortable or very comfortable with receiving this information from their optometrist.

Of note, 29% of patients surveyed reported their neurological and cognitive health as the top choice for receiving health information about from their optometrist, with cardiovascular health at 23%.

Additionally, the report highlighted 15 early-stage companies that are utilizing AI-enabled diagnostic solutions to reveal insights into systemic health conditions and diseases. Some of these diagnostic solutions include handheld fundus cameras and smart glasses.

“Oculomics is an emerging field that is still developing. As a leader in health-focused vision care, VSP is excited to explore the potential that oculomics offers for the future of eye care and overall health care,” Yomtoubian said in the release.

VSP Vision receives prestigious 2025 US Best Managed Company Gold Standard award. News release. VSP Vision. May 14, 2025. Accessed May 19, 2025. 

https://vspvision.com/newsroom/company-news/company-announcements/VSP-Vision-Receives-Prestigious-2025-US-Best-Managed-Company-Gold-Standard-Award-

VSP Vision. The Eye as a Window into the Body: The Future of Oculomics. 2025:9. 

https://s.tiled.co/2HcUlf5/futurist-report-oculomics

The VSP Global Innovation Center releases new report on The Future of Oculomics: The study of the eye as a window into overall health.

The award marks the company's fifth consecutive recognition from the program.

Dana Ondrias, OD

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