IBM’s deep learning technology can detect and classify the severity of diabetic retinopathy with 86% accuracy, according to new research. The diagnostic tool could help doctors and physicians better understand disease progression and determine treatment, IBM said. The company’s technology was trained to identify lesions using more than 35,000 eye images. It can classify the […]
Optical/Ophthalmic
Beaver-Visitec picks up Malosa Medical
Beaver-Visitec said today it acquired U.K.-based single-use ophthalmology surgical instrument maker Malosa Medical for an undisclosed amount. Malosa Medical has a portfolio of more than 400 products, according to Beaver-Visitec. Malosa packages its sets in sterilized, single-use packs which contain all required instruments and consumables for specific ophthalmic procedures, including cataract surgery and intravitreal injections, BVI […]
Eyevensys wins approval to start clinical development of EyeCET platform
Private biotech Eyevensys said today that it won approval from the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency to advance its EyeCET platform into clinical development. The company’s EyeCET platform uses an electro-transfection injection system to deliver non-viral plasmids that encode for disease-specific therapeutic proteins in the ciliary muscle of the eye. Eyevensys’ lead product […]
Clearside closes patient enrollment in trial for diabetic macular edema therapy
Clearside Biomedical (NSDQ:CLSD) said today that it finished enrollment for the Phase 1/2 study of CLS-TA in patients with diabetic macular edema. The Hulk trial is designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a suprachoroidal injection of its suspension formulation of a corticosteroid, triamcinolone acetonide, with and without an intravitreal injection of Eylea in […]
Imprimis, Precision Lens sign marketing and sales agreement
Imprimis Pharmaceuticals (NSDQ:IMMY) said today that it signed a 3-year exclusive sales agreement with Precision Lens. According to the deal, Precision Lens plans to deploy a sales team to expand Imprimis’ ophthalmic portfolio in 13 states across the U.S. Midwest. Precision Lens said it will sell San Diego-based Imprimis’ Dropless Therapy, LessDrops combination eye drops […]
Glaukos drops $6m on Dose Medical’s IOP sensor system
Glaukos (NYSE:GKOS) said today that it acquired Dose Medical‘s intraocular pressure sensor system assets for $5.5 million in cash, plus $9.5 million contingent upon development, clinical and regulatory milestones. The Dose Medical IOP sensor system includes a micro-invasive ocular implant that captures and stores a glaucoma patient’s short-interval IOP measurements. The system transmits data to […]
Glaukos slides on report of increased competition from Alcon
Glaukos (NYSE:GKOS) shares are off some 7% today on a report that increased competition from the Alcon unit of Novartis (NYSE:NVS). The once-high-flying stock could lose 30% of its value this year as Glaukos loses its monopoly on the ocular stent, according to a report today in Barron’s. The San Clemente, Calif.-based company’s iStent, which won FDA […]
Retinal imager dev Vasoptic Medical raises $1.5m
Portable retinal imager developer Vasoptic Medical raised $1.5 million in a new round of equity financing, according to an SEC filing posted last week. The Baltimore, Md.-based company is developing a portable retinal imaging device designed to capture physiological information from the retinal microvasculature. Vasoptic Medical said that such information can provide a quantitative means of […]
FDA clears Bausch & Lomb’s Stellaris Elite cataract system
Valeant Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:VRX, TSE:VRX) subsidiary Bausch & Lomb said today it won FDA 510(k) clearance for its Stellaris Elite vision enhancement system. The system is a next-gen phacoemulsification cataract platform designed for cataract lens removal, and offers improved customization and precise aspiration control with predictive infusion management, Bausch & Lomb said. “We are pleased to continue […]
Defendants move for acquittal in Abbott-Advanced Medical Optics insider trading case
The defendants in an insider trading case yesterday asked a federal judge in California to acquit them of all charges, arguing that the government failed to show any evidence that they traded on inside dope about Abbott‘s (NYSE:ABT) $2.8 billion acquisition of Advanced Medical Optics in 2009. Federal prosecutors in 2014 accused ex-Advanced Medical Optics chief James Mazzo of tipping […]
Chinese backers put $18m into Bionic Vision Technologies
A pair of Chinese backers put $18 million into Bionic Vision Technologies and its retinal implant for blindness, the Australian company said today. Hong Kong-based China Huarong International Holdings and State Path Capital ponied up A$23.5 million, BVT said, noting that it plans to use the cash to build devices and launch clinical trials in retinitis pigmentosa, based […]