Alcon and Transcend Medical have partnered on an international glaucoma therapy project.
+ Technology/Innovation
Jamie Barrand | Feb 20, 2016

Alcon, Transcend Medical partner on glaucoma therapy project

A collaboration between Alcon, the eye care division of Swiss multinational pharmaceutical firm Novartis, and Transcend Medical Inc., a U.S.-based medical device company, could lead to more treatment options for patients living with mild to moderate glaucoma.

Scientists at Transcend have developed the micro-invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) device, a micro-stent that is impacted just below the eye's surface. The MIGS device works by opening up the eye's drainage outlets, thus reducing the intraocular pressure (IOP) associated with glaucoma.

Glaucoma, which affects more than 60 million people worldwide, is a progressive disease that damages the optic nerve and often leads to loss of sight. Current methods of treatment for glaucoma include eye drops, medication, laser surgery and more invasive surgery.

Alcon officials will now fine-tune the MIGS device, so an application for approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can be submitted.

"We expect the MIGS technology to be a great addition to our device pipeline and to establish Alcon's presence in this new surgical category to treat glaucoma," Alcon CEO Mike Ball said. "If approved, it will provide a less invasive means of lowering IOP than traditional invasive glaucoma surgery, with the goal of lowering the dependency of topical ocular medication. This acquisition also expands Alcon's leadership in glaucoma and cataract treatment as part of our surgical business."

The MIGS device was the subject of a clinical study that involved 500 patients living with mild to moderate glaucoma. Primary and secondary endpoints of the study were achieved in 2015, with the majority of test subjects' IOP decreasing by 20 percent or more.

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