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AAO 2024 Day 2 Round-Up: Firing on All Cylinders

The second day of AAO 2024 in Chicago saw the opening of the exhibition hall and a day full of marquee sessions.

Sunny skies and unseasonably warm Fall weather dominated Day 2 of the 128th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmologists in Chicago, as the exhibition hall opened its doors and the meeting’s much-anticipated scientific program got into its full groove.

All the latest skill-sharing sessions and instructional courses were fully online, but so was a packed slate of sessions. 

The Michael F Marmor Lecture in Ophthalmology and the Arts featured photography expert and Ansel Adams biographer Mary Street Alinder and her talk about the legendary artist’s vision and impact on seeing the world around us. 

Another intriguing late afternoon session saw experts from across the eye care world discuss potential threats to professionalism in ophthalmology—and debate the potential opportunities that could also arise from disruptive technology like artificial intelligence and the rise of increasingly larger and more dominant pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers.

Our sole highlight session today dealt with diabetic retinopathy and the latest management and follow-up recommendations from Preferred Practice Pattern guidelines. A selection of members from the Preferred Practice Pattern Retina/Vitreous Panel presented best practice findings through a series of case studies and informative lectures. Check out our full story on that now!

Whispers around the exhibition hall

With the exhibition hall open for the first time, your correspondent got out and about to quiz delegates and industry about what’s hot in eye care—and here’s what’s been percolating.

Doctors and industry analysts alike are taking notice—and talking about—the disruptive potential of the ZEISS MICOR 700 hand-held lens extraction device.

The device is hand-held, requires no foot pedal or console, and can extract a cataract without ultrasound energy. With United States distribution having just started in September, the first round of reviews are making the rounds. 

The disruptive potential for this device, including in low-resource and rural environments, is potentially massive. “Are we looking at the end of phaco? Maybe,” one cataract specialist stated under condition of anonymity.

Gene editing platforms with a potentially broad range of applications are also turning heads.

Nanoscope Therapeutics’ potential breakthrough MCO-010 treatment for retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is one. The company won yet another award at this year’s AAO Eyecelerator with their gene therapy that allows bipolar cells to sense light. 

Many have described the vision gains as unprecedented for a mutation-agnostic therapy for RP, and the company has announced its intention to submit a rolling BLA to the FDA early next year on the strength of strong data from its Phase III RESTORE trial. “It feels like this is science fiction, but then you look at the data and realize: Maybe it’s not,” said Dr. Peter Kaiser at a Nanoscope-hosted media event. 

Neurotech Pharmaceuticals’ macular telangiectasia candidate is another. The firm’s encapsulated cell technology (ECT) has been used to apply ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) to the retinas of MacTel sufferers, with a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) target date—often used as a proxy for FDA approval—of December 17 this year. 

Trial data has been encouraging so far. And while this would be the first therapy approved for MacTel, there is significant buzz that this delivery system could be applied to large-molecule anti-VEGF agents in exudative retinal disease—and result in significant gains in treatment burden reduction. 

Did you know that Optos’ ultra-wide field retinal imaging devices are being used to save the sight of local indigenous communities in Greenland? Climate change and globalization have seen radical impacts to the lifestyles and diets of the indigenous peoples of Greenland, leading to increased rates of diabetes and eye disease.

Optos reported that they have about 10 machines in operation in Greenland to help nip this nascent threat to islanders’ sight in the bud—including one system fully installed on a boat!

Editor’s Note: Reporting for this story took place during the 128th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO 2024) from 18-21 October in Chicago, Illinois, USA.

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