Practice tip: Compare your current tech tool belt to the recommended 2024 one
Do you have technologies for 2024 that facilitate the standard of care, provide efficiency, and add a billable service to your practice? In his article, “Tools for the 2024 primary care practice,” Glenn S. Corbin, OD, provides lists of such technologies under general vision and ocular health care, contact lens care, the optical, glaucoma/optic neuropathies, dry eye disease, AMD/maculopathies/retinal diseases, and diabetic retinopathy. To see how your practice matches up, see the full article at https://www.optometricmanagement.com/issues/2023/november-december-2023/tools-for-the-2024-primary-care-practice. 
 
Atsena announces positive 12-month data of its investigational gene therapy
Atsena Therapeutics announced positive 12-month safety and efficacy data from its ongoing phase 1/2 trial of ATSN-101, the company’s investigational gene therapy for the treatment of GUCY2D-associated Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA1). At 12 months following treatment, the therapy conferred clinically meaningful improvements in vision at the highest dose with no serious treatment-emergent adverse event, according to a press release.
 
Catania’s Primary Care of the Anterior Segment third edition recently published
Drs. Brian S. Armitage, Louis J. Catania, and Elizabeth Draper Muckley have published the third edition of Catania’s Primary Care of the Anterior Segment. This edition includes a new chapter on the pre- and postop management of cataract and refractive surgery and glaucoma, as well as updates on proprietary therapeutic drugs, and technology additions such as amniotic membranes, injectables, and minor in-office procedures. To order the book, visit https://bit.ly/CataniaPC. 
 
Cleinman Performance Partners announces promotion 
Cleinman Performance Partners promoted Timothy Aiken as its president and chief operations officer from his former role as senior vice president and chief revenue officer. Mr. Aiken has more than 24 years of experience building, developing, and leading successful teams for organizations that serve the eye care industry, according to a press release.
 
EyePoint Pharmaceuticals releases results of study on investigational sustained delivery maintenance treatment for wet AMD
EyePoint Pharmaceuticals, Inc., announced positive topline results of its phase 2 DAVIO 2 trial of EYP-1901, an investigational sustained-delivery maintenance treatment for wet age-related macular degeneration that combines vorolanib, a selective tryrosine kinase inhibitor, with bioerodible Durasert E. Specifically, the clinical trial met its primary endpoint with both EYP-1901 doses demonstrating statistical non-inferiority change in best-corrected visual acuity compared to control and a favorable safety profile with no ocular or systemic serious events arising related to the study therapy, according to a press release.
 
OKYO Pharma completes study dosing of dry eye disease therapy candidate
OKYO Pharma completed its 12-week dosing of the last patient of a phase 2 clinical trial of OK-101 to treat dry eye disease (DED). OK-101 is a lipid conjugated chemerin peptide agonist of the ChemR23 G-protein coupled receptor, which is typically found on immune cells of the eye responsible for the inflammatory response. The study enrolled 240 DED patients randomly divided into three cohorts of 80 patients: one treated with placebo, a second treated with 0.05% OK-101, and the third treated with 0.1% OK-101. In addition, data analysis plans for the trial have been finalized and submitted to the FDA for feedback. 
 
Prevent Blindness provides resource for geographic atrophy awareness
Prevent Blindness, on the third annual Geographic Atrophy (GA) Awareness Week, now through Dec. 10, has provided free educational resources for patients, care partners, and health care professionals that focuses on the later-stage cases of dry age-related macular degeneration. Visit preventblindness.org/geographic-atrophy. Also, as part of GA Week at Prevent Blindness, a new episode in the Prevent Blindness Focus on Eye Health Expert Series, “Advancements in Treatments for Geographic Atrophy,” will be available, featuring Rajeev S. Ramchandran, MD, MBA, associate professor of ophthalmology, Flaum Eye Institute, University of Rochester Medical Center.
 
OD Notebook is published weekly on Wednesdays. Unless otherwise noted, the information presented is based on press releases and/or announcements by the respective organizations. Find earlier editions here. To submit a press release to be considered for publication, click here.