Week in review: Drug disposal, artificial intelligence, upward earnings

A weekly roundup of ophthalmic news from around the web.

Roche has officially washed its hands of the geographic atrophy drug, lampalizumab. The decision comes as little surprise after the complement factor D inhibitor failed to curb lesion growth in the Chroma and Spectri phase 3 trials. Fierce Biotech

The FDA has expedited the review of an artificial intelligence system designed to detect early signs of diabetic retinopathy (DR). The biotech firm IDx hopes their AI system will provide an efficient and cost-effective way to detect DR. Healio

Allergan’s fourth-quarter earnings surpassed analysts’ expectations, expanding by 12% in the final months of 2017. Restasis and Ozurdex continue to show revenue growth, while the glaucoma products Ganfort, Lumigan, Alphagan and Combigan took small dips. CNBC

Alcon is showing signs of a turnaround, with an 8.3% sales growth to $1.56 billion by the close of the fourth quarter. Novartis was quick to note the “significant progress" in their eye care division, which has been undergoing a strategic review since early 2017. The company says they expect net sales to increase by single digits in 2018. Fox Business

An antioxidant cocktail of vitamins E, C and sodium selenite—combined with standard cholesterol therapy—can curb the progressive, permanent retinal degeneration seen in animal models of a rare metabolic condition called Smith-Lemli-Opitz Syndrome. Researchers say the findings, published in Nature Scientific Reports, are fodder for clinical trials in humans. Nature