What happened in optometry this week: October 21 - October 25
Catch up on what happened in optometry during the week of October 21-October 25.
Catch up with what Optometry Times shared this week:
US FDA accepts NDA for LENZ Therapeutics' LNZ100 for the treatment of presbyopia
By Jordana Joy, Associate Editor
The US FDA has accepted LENZ Therapeutics’ New Drug Application (NDA) for LNZ100 for the treatment of presbyopia, according to the company in a news release.1 The NDA submission is supported by positive data results from the pivotal Phase 3 CLARITY study, released in April 2024, which reached all primary and secondary near vision improvement endpoints with participants reaching 3-lines or greater improvement in Best Corrected Distance Visual Acuity at near and did not lose 1 line or more in distance visual acuity.1,2
Ocuphire Pharma acquires Opus Genetics
By David Hutton, Managing Editor, Ophthalmology Times
Ocuphire Pharma announced the all-stock acquisition of Opus Genetics, a clinical-stage gene therapy company for inherited retinal diseases (IRDs).
According to a news release, the deal would position the combined companies as a key player in the development of gene therapies for the treatment of IRDs. In connection with the merger, the combined company will be renamed Opus Genetics Inc., effective October 23, 2024, and will trade on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol IRD effective October 24, 2024.1
Visual impairment may have a role in dementia, according to a new study
By Lynda Charters
A recent cross-sectional study1 found about 19% of dementia prevalence might have resulted from visual impairments that are largely correctable, according to first author Jason R. Smith, ScM, from the Department of Epidemiology and the Cochlear Center for Hearing and Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore.
He and his colleagues advocated prevention and treatment of visual impairments, ie, distance and near visual acuity and contrast sensitivity, to lower the prevalence rate of dementia.
Connecting optometry and the retina subspecialty
By Betty Zhang, OD
The retina terrified me. I graduated from optometry school with many ocular pathology courses and disease-heavy rotations, but I still felt trepidation when examining, diagnosing, and managing diseases of the posterior segment. I was lucky to secure a residency in a multispecialty referral center, where my interest in and knowledge of the retina continued to expand under the guidance of 2 fellowship-trained vitreoretinal surgeons.
Glaucoma prevalence may be higher in US than previously anticipated, study suggests
By Jordana Joy, Associate Editor
A new study1 that compiled data from 2022 has uncovered a higher prevalence in glaucoma than previously estimated in the US. The study, Prevalence of Glaucoma Among US Adults in 2022, was published in JAMA Ophthalmology and found that approximately 4.22 million people in the US have glaucoma, 1.62% of which were adults ages 18 and older, according to a news release from Prevent Blindness. As many as 1.49 million people have vision-affecting glaucoma, with 0.57% being adults ages 18 and older.2
