Ocular Oncology News

To the Editor:

Light-activated AU-011 for the treatment of primary choroidal melanoma was well tolerated with no severe adverse events, while showing promising early efficacy results, in a phase 1b/2 trial, Aura Biosciences announced in a press release.

Immunocore Limited presented data from the IMCgp100-102 trial at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting that showed a durable response and strong overall survival rate in patients with metastatic uveal melanoma.

HONOLULU — Early studies have shown IMCgp100 (Immunocore), a bispecific T-cell redirector, to be “extremely promising” for the treatment of uveal melanoma, Richard Carvajal, MD, said at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology meeting here.

Ocular surface squamous neoplasia, or OSSN, is seen often as an abnormal growth in the ocular surface predominantly near the limbus. Immunosuppression and ultraviolet light exposure are known high risk factors for developing OSSN. DNA repair defects such as xeroderma pigmentosum have been reported to develop skin carcinomas. Similarly, OSSN is known to happen in xeroderma pigmentosum patients. There are few dermatological conditions in which OSSN is often noted. We report here a case of giant invasive OSSN in a patient with congenital ichthyosis.

PHILADELPHIA — Multimodal imaging can assist in detecting intraocular tumors that cannot be seen with ophthalmoscopy, according to a speaker at the Wills Eye Conference.

PHILADELPHIA — Wills Eye Hospital presented the Brady-Shields Endowed Chair in Ocular Oncology to inaugural recipient Jerry A. Shields, MD, co-founder and director emeritus of the Ocular Oncology Service at Wills Eye Hospital.

Aura Biosciences has completed $30 million in Series C financing, according to a company press release.

NEW ORLEANS ― At the Ophthalmology Innovation Summit here, Elisabet de los Pinos, PhD, CEO of Aura Biosciences, discusses the work the company is doing to bring its treatment for ocular melanoma using viral nanoparticle conjugates to the U.S.

NEW ORLEANS — Choroidal melanoma has a high unmet medical need, according to Carol L. Shields, MD, and results of an early-stage study of a light-activated viral nanoparticle lend encouragement that a therapy may be developed to meet that need.