Regulatory/Legislative News

In recent weeks, the FDA has issued three approvals for ophthalmic indications and multiple other rulings regarding ophthalmic drugs and technology.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office has granted EyeGate Pharmaceuticals a patent for its iontophoresis delivery of corticosteroids to the eye, according to a company press release.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender adults are likely to encounter increased discrimination as they try to access health care services after a series of actions initiated by the Trump administration that articulate a right to refuse services to others based on religious beliefs, according to a policy brief issued by The Fenway Institute.

The European Patent Office has issued a patent for SF0166, a topical ophthalmic solution for retinal diseases, according to a press release from SciFluor Life Sciences.

The repeal of net neutrality as voted on by the Federal Communications Commission could lead to unintended and devastating consequences for physicians in small practices, as well as telemedicine and patients in rural areas that receive state-of-the-art medical care through telecommunications, according to experts.

The FDA’s ophthalmology-related news in November included device, drug and feasibility study approvals.

NovaTears+Omega-3 has been approved in Europe for the treatment of signs and symptoms of evaporative dry eye disease, according to a Novaliq press release.

The Pascal laser has received FDA clearance to offer pattern scanning laser trabeculoplasty, according to a Topcon press release.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued a patent to Glaukos for shunt devices to treat glaucoma and the method of implanting those devices, according to a company press release.

The FDA has granted expedited access pathway designation to Second Sight Medical Products for its Orion cortical visual prosthesis system, according to a company press release.