AUGUST 2020 | EYEWORLD | 49
C
Contact
Galor: agalor@med.miami.edu
Hamrah:
PHamrah@tuftsmedicalcenter.org
There are several companies working on
various drugs, he said, such as the biologicals
ST266 or NRO-1 (GDNF) or morselized am-
niotic membrane and umbilical cord eye drops
that are being studied in clinical trials or are
under development.
"It's an exciting time because it's the first
time we have a treatment for an orphan disease
with which ophthalmologists have been strug-
gling," he said.
In terms of future treatments, Dr. Galor
went into more detail about corneal neurotiza-
tion, where you harvest a nerve and attach it to
a nerve that works. Only a few centers in the
country are doing this, she said, and it's a more
involved procedure, generally done by ocu-
loplastic surgeons.
Dr. Hamrah thinks more treatment options
are needed, to make treatments accessible to all
patients and for patients who may not improve
with Oxervate. He added that despite good
results, Oxervate has shown to be effective in
70% of patients, so to have another treatment
option for those 30% of patients who are not
healing would be helpful.
Slit lamp photo of persistent epithelial defect (PED) in a patient with a history of zoster ophthalmicus; PED persisted
despite placement of three amniotic membranes and autologous serum tears and eventually healed with Oxervate
Source: Anat Galor, MD
References
1. Bonini S, et al. Phase II ran-
domized, double-masked, vehi-
cle-controlled trial of recombinant
human nerve growth factor for
neurotrophic keratitis. Ophthal-
mology. 2018;125:1332–1343.
2. Pflugfelder SC, et al. Topical
recombinant human nerve growth
factor (cenergermin) for neuro-
trophic keratopathy: A multicenter
randomized vehicle-controlled
pivotal trial. Ophthalmology.
2020;127:14–26.
Relevant disclosures
Galor: Dompe
Hamrah: Dompe, TissueTech,
Neuroptika
