OIS Podcast | Ophthalmology's leading Podcast

Ophthalmology companies have had a difficult time targeting AMD lately. Newcomer Gemini Therapeutics is bringing a “multimodal approach” to identify new targets in the complement system, with an eye toward developing specific treatments for patients with connected genetic codes. CEO, president, and co-founder James McLaughlin explains how Gemini hopes to advance the war against these dreadful dise...

CEO Paul Chaney details the company’s plans to move forward with $11 million in new capital. He also recounts how his unplanned entry into ophthalmology led him to appreciate how special the specialty truly is. Chaney also explains why PanOptica’s pursuit of an eye-drop-based treatment for AMD and DR is personal.

With $3 million to invest in first-time funds, impact investor ExSight Capital built a promising and productive portfolio that included gene therapy company RetroSense. Now, ExSight co-founder and partner Firas M. Rahhal, MD, says the firm is planning to raise a much larger fund that could elevate its standing as a seed-stage investor in ophthalmology companies.

Pravin Dugel, MD, managing partner, Retinal Consultants of Arizona, delivers a frank overview of the pipeline of experimental retinal drugs. The next year could be critical for retinal disease as combination therapies and other products push through late-stage clinical trials. What technologies show the most promise? What advances have surprised even him?

Christy Shaffer, PhD, general partner at Hatteras Venture Partners, didn’t have a career map that led her into the corner office at Inspire Pharmaceuticals or into the partnership at Hatteras Venture Partners. But the clinical scientist grew to succeed in both roles. Dr. Shaffer led Inspire when the company conceived and then built out its ophthalmology program, a business that trained many of tod...

Accomplished ophthalmologist Mark Blumenkranz, MD, moved early into the Digital Health space by co-founding Digisight, one of the more advanced efforts in ophthalmology. Six years, later, Dr. Blumenkranz still sees enormous opportunity so he’s working with the FDA and top clinical societies to hold a one-day workshop for physicians, investors, and entrepreneurs interested in learning how Digital H...

In 2011, Cal Roberts, MD, got an unexpected call from Brent Saunders, then head of Bausch & Lomb. Saunders asked if Dr. Roberts would trade a thriving ophthalmology practice to serve as chief medical officer at the eye care giant. Today, Dr. Roberts is thrilled with the decision, and other ophthalmology companies are following the example, bringing on practicing physicians as CMOs. But what we...

M. Francesca Cordeiro, MD, PhD, professor, UCL and Imperial College London, Western Eye Hospital London, shares details of the institute’s detection of apoptosing retinal cells (DARC) scan – which employs a new retinal biomarker. The DARC system, which will undergo further trials, could allow for earlier detection of retinal disease in patients, as at least 30% to 50% of ganglion cells may be lost...

Charles Semba, MD, is one of the more recognized and accomplished figures in development of new ophthalmology treatments. He has played integral roles in the development of Lucentis, Xiidra, and more recently Forsight IV’s drug delivery technology. Now the chief medical officer at Graybug Vision, Dr. Semba is working to develop a technology that could significantly reduce the number of injections...

OIS@ASRS co-chairs Emmett Cunningham Jr., MD, Mark S. Humayun, MD, PhD, and John Pollack, MD, took a few minutes to share their thoughts on the second OIS@ASRS. Dr. Humayun, the outgoing ASRS president, shares details on his next undertaking – finding a way to measure the value of vision protection. Meanwhile, Dr. Pollack highlights one of his priorities after taking over as ASRS president.

Last week, Johnson & Johnson announced plans to acquire TearScience, maker of a line of products capable of diagnosing and treating Meibomian gland dysfunction, a leading cause of Dry Eye. Ashley McEvoy , Company Group Chairman for Johnson & Johnson Vision, explains where TearScience will fit into J&J if the deal is completed and what the global giant’s plans for additional Dry Eye tre...

OIS Co-chair Emmett T. Cunningham Jr., MD, PhD, MPH, managing director, Clarus Funds, walks us through the agenda of Thursday’s OIS@ASRS. What areas of retina will dominate the headlines for the next 12 months?

Allegro Ophthalmics expects to deliver some positive news about its Phase II DEL MAR trial that is evaluating the safety and efficacy of Luminate as an adjunctive therapy with anti-VEGFs in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME). Could the news put the company in a position for an initial public offering?

In two recent interviews, Elizabeth Yeu, MD, Virginia Eye Consultants, and Richard Lewis, MD, Sacramento Eye Consultants share how innovation is changing how they treat patients. Reimbursement, marketing and the future of new tech also are discussed.

In this OIS Podcast, David Alpern, partner at Varsity Healthcare Partners, and Brent Wilde, president of Minnesota Eye Consultants, offer complimentary perspectives on Private Equity’s impact on ophthalmology practices.

Jerry St. Peter, VP & head, ophthalmic business, says the ophthalmology newcomer is making great progress in building a broad pipeline to treat eye disease including dry eye and ocular pain. In this interview he reviews several acquisitions and partnerships the company has made over the past 24 months.

Laurent Attias, head, strategy, BD&L and M&A, reports on progress on Alcon’s project with Google and its advancing glaucoma portfolio. Attias says Alcon is “open for business” and continuing to advance innovative ideas in ophthalmology.

After capturing lighting in a bottle with Oculeve, Ali Behbahani, MD, partner of New Enterprise Associates, recalls the experience with the Dry Eye start-up and lays out his plans for investing in future ophthalmology start-ups.

Max G. Ostermeier, MBA, co-founder and general manager of Implandata Ophthalmic Products GmbH, charts a course for the company after securing CE mark for its EYEMATE eye pressure measurement system for continuous measurement of IOL in patients with glaucoma.

Mynosys Cellular Devices CEO and president John Hendrick lays out his company’s plan to roll out Zepto in the US. The firm has reported strong demand in OUS markets, and Hendrick anticipates it will upend the capsulotomy market.

Eric Donnenfeld, MD, founding partner of OCLI, shares how his practice is incorporating new diagnostics and treatments. “I spend less time diagnosing the disease and it enables me to spend more time talking to the patients about therapies,” Dr. Donnenfeld says. He also praises Shire and Allergan for their effective marketing.

In this interview, Tom Mitro, COO of Aerie Pharmaceuticals, says new hires brought on to prepare for likely commercial sale of Rhopressa bring new life and energy into a company hitting its stride. He also provides to OIS@ASCRS an update on the firm’s glaucoma pipeline.

Ludwin Monz, PhD, President and CEO of Carl Zeiss Meditec explains why the ophthalmology leader brought in new senior leadership. He also reviews the company’s recent product approvals and gives an assessment of the “amazing possibilities” within diagnostics.

Now that Shire’s Xiidra claims a 20% market share, find out how it’s impacting the practice. Alice Epitropoulos, MD, of Ophthalmic Surgeons & Consultants of Ohio, sat down with OIS-TV to explain how Shire, TrueTear, and other advances are impacting her Dry Eye patients.

LensGen CEO Ram Rao discusses his company’s $21 million Series A and the increased interest in presbyopia.