• Bausch + Lomb and AcuFocus Inc. announced an affiliate of Bausch + Lomb has acquired AcuFocus, pursuant to a merger transaction with the parent company of AcuFocus. The acquisition will enhance Bausch + Lomb’s surgical portfolio with the IC-8 Apthera IOL, the first small aperture non-toric extended-depth-of-focus IOL for certain cataract patients who have as much as 1.5 diopters of corneal astigmatism and wish to address presbyopia at the same time.

• Horizon Therapeutics announced the primary endpoint was met for the second population in its Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating dazodalibep for the treatment of Sjögren’s syndrome. The second population includes those with moderate-to-severe symptomatology including dryness, pain and fatigue despite lacking additional organ involvement. They are defined as patients with a European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) Sjögren’s Syndrome Patient Reported Index (ESSPRI) score of ≥ 5, and a score of <5 on the EULAR Sjögren's Syndrome Disease Activity Index, which measures organ involvement. At day 169, dazodalibep-treated patients achieved a 1.8-point reduction in their ESSPRI scores compared to placebo-treated patients who achieved a 0.53-point reduction, resulting in a least squares mean difference of 1.27 (p=0.0002). 

• Topcon Healthcare obtained ISO 27001 certification of its HarmonyRS Clinical Data Management System, a next-generation, browser-based system that allows eye-care providers to connect all of their diagnostic instruments, regardless of manufacturer, into one secure, web-based platform. This certification is in addition to the previous ISO certification that Topcon achieved for its Harmony US system. By achieving ISO 27001 certification for Harmony RS, Topcon says it has demonstrated that its newest data management application meets the most stringent requirements for data integrity.

• OcuSciences Inc. announced the publication of a rare inherited mitochondrial diseases study in Ophthalmology Genetics journal. The findings suggest that the novel flavoprotein fluorescence (FPF) measure can differentiate between patients diagnosed with inherited retinal dystrophies and their age-matched controls. The FPF results also correlated with fundus autofluorescence findings, suggesting clinical utility of the rapid, automated measure. Patients were imaged with OcuSciences’ OcuMet Beacon functional retinal imager, between January and December 2021, to capture and quantify their FPF signal. Mean FPF intensity and heterogeneity was significantly higher in patients with inherited retinal dystrophies than age-matched controls. For more, see the study results here.

• A new approach to gene therapy may improve how physicians treat inherited forms of blindness. A collaborative team of researchers with Oregon Health & Science University and Oregon State University have developed an approach that uses lipid nanoparticles to deliver strands of mRNA inside the eye. To treat blindness, the mRNA will be designed to create proteins that edit vision-harming gene mutations. In a study published in Science Advances, the team demonstrates how its lipid nanoparticle delivery system targets light-sensitive cells in the eye (photoreceptors) in both mice and nonhuman primates. The system’s nanoparticles are coated with a peptide that the researchers identified as being attracted to photoreceptors. For more, see the study results here.

• Scientists at the National Eye Institute (NEI) have developed a zebrafish model of NEDBEH, a rare genetic disorder that can cause coloboma, where parts of the eye are missing due to developmental defects. The model provides a new tool for understanding the eye's embryonic development. The scientists characterized early eye development in zebrafish with a mutation in the gene rerea — the zebrafish equivalent of the human RERE gene. Compared with normal zebrafish, mutants showed eye defects including enlarged optic stalks, eye tissue in the brain and coloboma. The rerea mutation interfered with signaling of sonic hedgehog (shh), an important protein that directs the development of a variety of organs and tissue, including the optic stalk and retina. By inhibiting the shh pathway at a different point, the scientists rescued coloboma, leading to proper closure of the optic fissure. Click here for more on the zebrafish model.

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