Week in review: Sustained gains, Restasis tribunal, O’Keeffe eyepiece

A weekly roundup of ophthalmic news from around the web.

An experimental gene therapy for Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) has produced sustained vision gains, Gensight Biologics reports. The company recently announced results from week 72 of their phase 3 trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of a single intravitreal injection of GS010 in 39 people with LHON. About 40% of eyes achieved a clinically meaningful improvement in BCVA, and the treatment seems well tolerated. Gensight Biologics

Remember that time Allergan tried to shield Restasis’ patents from generic competition by transferring them to a Native American tribe? On Monday, those plans fell through when the U.S. Supreme Court declined Allergan’s bid to block federal administrative review of the top-selling dry eye drug (cyclosporine ophthalmic emulsion 0.5%). The new ruling upholds a lower court’s decision that the patents’ validity should be decided by a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office tribunal. Reuters

A diabetic retinopathy screen that bundles AI with expert human grading offers “the best of both worlds,” according to Kaushal Solanki, CEO of Eyenuk. The EyeScreen Human + AI Diagnostic Service seeks agreement between humans and technology before flagging an eye for follow up. Any stalemates are resolved by a second human expert. The company says their service could help nonspecialists detect diabetic retinopathy progression early, without dilation, and provide faster intervention. Eyenuk

The Georgia O’Keeffe museum and EnChroma have paired up to provide colorblind art enthusiasts with a better way to view O’Keeffe’s colorful masterpieces. “O’Keeffe took simple colors from nature and juxtaposed them in ways that evoked emotion,” EnChroma’s CEO Andrew Schmeder explained in a press release. Specially crafted glasses selectively filter out wavelengths of light that contribute to red-green color blindness, reestablishing an accurate ratio of the colors of light (illustrated above). O’Keeffe herself developed macular degeneration later in life and shifted to sculpture. AP News, EnChroma

The FDA will perform a priority review of brolucizumab  for patients with wet AMD, based on promising results from the phase 3 HAWK and HARRIER trials. The agency accepted Novartis’ Biologics License Application. If approved, brolucizumab could hit the market by the end of 2019. Novartis