TEPEZZA for TED. Last week, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) granted marketing authorization for TEPEZZA (teprotumumab), Amgen’s first targeted therapy aimed at the treatment of moderate-to-severe Thyroid Eye Disease (TED). TED currently affects around 50,000 people in the UK and, if left untreated, can lead to eye pain and vision impairment, impacting a person’s wellbeing and quality of life. “The marketing authorization for teprotumumab as the first therapy specifically licensed for Thyroid Eye Disease (TED) in the UK marks a step forward for the patient community,” said Dr Tony Patrikios, Executive Medical Director, Amgen UK & Ireland. “This authorization introduces a new alternative treatment option and reinforces Amgen’s commitment to supporting eligible patients with serious, underserved conditions.” Link
Promising results for PER-001. Perfuse Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies to treat ischemia-induced ocular diseases, recently announced positive early results for the phase II/2a trial of PER-001, its first-in-class endothelin antagonist intravitreal implant for glaucoma. Treatment with PER-001 was shown to lead to improvements in optic nerve structure, visual function, and ocular blood flow, as measured by optical coherence tomography (OCT) retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness and visual field (VF) sensitivity. The trial marks the first time that an endothelin antagonist has been studied in the human eye, with the findings indicating a potential new approach for the treatment of glaucoma patients. Link
Improving intraocular inflammation with AS-OCT. A cross-sectional study published in Eye has evaluated the utility of swept-source anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) in differentiating between pigment and inflammatory cells in the anterior chamber (AC) of patients with uveitis. The researchers – based at Moorfields Eye Hospital, UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London – found that larger hyper-reflective particles on AS-OCT correlated with clinical inflammation (higher SUN grading), while smaller particles were more associated with AC pigment, especially in eyes without active inflammation. The findings suggest AS-OCT can objectively distinguish between these two cell types, improving diagnostic accuracy and disease monitoring. The study supports the potential for AS-OCT-derived metrics to guide uveitis management and potentially differentiate disease aetiologies. To fully establish clinical validation of AS-OCT, the authors recommend investigations on a larger cohort, clinical correlation with anterior chamber sampling, and further replications by other clinical teams. Link
Supplements to slow down glaucoma progression. A new Cell Reports Medicine study has explored the role of dysfunctional one-carbon metabolism – specifically elevated homocysteine – in glaucoma. The multi-institutional authors revealed that although elevated homocysteine levels are observed in glaucoma, they are not causative, but rather pathogenic markers associated with disease progression. Using animal models, the study identified that genes regulating one-carbon metabolism, including those requiring vitamins B6, B9, B12, and choline, are significantly disrupted in early glaucoma. The researchers demonstrated that supplementation with these vitamins can provide neuroprotective effects, preserving retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and maintaining visual function, potentially representing an IOP-independent therapeutic strategy for glaucoma involving metabolic support through vitamin supplementation. Link
