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Nerve growth factor to be available soon for the treatment of corneal ulcers
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 Paolo Rama |
VIENNA, Austria — Nerve growth factor will soon become available as a topical medication for corneal ulcers secondary to neurotrophic keratitis not responding to conventional treatment, a specialist announced here.
"We have known the efficacy of topical [nerve growth factor] for many years," Paolo Rama, MD, said at the EuCornea meeting preceding the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons meeting.
At the San Giovanni e Paolo Hospital in Venice, Italy, where he worked for several years, nerve growth factor has been used compassionately for the treatment of corneal ulcers since 1996, when a young girl was successfully treated for the first time.
"We published our first results in 1998, and since then we have treated 45 more patients. Our success rate was amazingly high, and all those corneas are still perfectly clear," Dr. Rama said.
In January, the Italian company Dompé acquired the worldwide rights for the development and commercialization of nerve growth factor. Following a multicenter European clinical trial in 2012, nerve growth factor will become available on the market.
- Disclosure: Dr. Rama is a consultant for Dompé Group Pharmaceuticals.