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119 EW RETINA 2. Maurice DM. Drug delivery to the poste- rior segment from drops. Surv Ophthalmol. 2002;47 Suppl. 1:S41–52. AMD-like choroid or retina neovas- cular lesions, response in human subjects is yet to be established. "It would be exciting to see if Vasotide is as good as or has a synergistic effect with current treat- ments," Dr. Teoh said. "If it proves to be successful in the corresponding human retinal diseases, it could be successfully used in additional reti- nal angiogenic diseases in the future, particularly diabetic retinopathy and retinal vascular diseases; this could represent a major breakthrough in ophthalmic treatments," he added. However, Dr. Teoh said, the side effects of Vasotide (especially systemically) have yet to be studied. "This will have a definite impact on the success of this drug when used in humans," he said. "We have not yet established Vasotide's ocular pharmacological properties with respect to its routes and rates of entry into ocular tissues and blood, its half-life in each rele- vant site, optimal dosage, and possi- ble side effects, all of which require thorough analysis, although they can only be approximated in animal studies," the researchers noted. "What we have established is that the Vasotide peptidomimetic is ther- apeutically effective when delivered in eye drops or by an intraperitoneal route in 2 murine and 1 nonhuman primate model of angiogenic retinal diseases." As we continue to understand the molecular mechanisms of retinal diseases, according to Dr. Teoh, more and more cytokines are being identified in their pathogen- esis. Hence, treatment with specific anti-cytokine molecules represents a targeted approach and a paradigm shift in personalized medicine. "Vasotide is another mole- cule that hopefully adds to our armamentarium of treatment for sight-threatening diseases, and is definitely a drug whose develop- ment we should be watching very closely," he concluded. EW References 1. Sidman RL, et al. The peptidomimetic Vasotide targets two retinal VEGF recep- tors and reduces pathological angiogen- esis in murine and nonhuman primate models of retinal disease. Sci Transl Med. 2015;7(309):309ra165. www.malosa.com Visit us at ASCRS 2016 in booth 859 • Brand new Instruments, every time. • Zero cross-contamination risk. • Fixed procedure costs. Single-use instruments and procedure packs provide guaranteed patient safety at a lower cost. • Instruments & Procedure Packs. • Increased patient throughput. • Now available in the U.S.A. The specialists in single-use. Editors' note: Drs. Teoh and Sidman have no financial interests related to their comments. Contact information Sidman: richard_sidman@hms.harvard.edu Teoh: stephenteoh@eagleeyecentre.com.sg March 2016

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