Monday, June 7, 2010

Abstract: About that corneal staining....

Polycarbonate membrane impression cytology: evidence for fluorescein staining in normal and dry eye corneas.
Br J Ophthalmol. 2010 Apr;94(4):406-9.
Thinda S, Sikh PK, Hopp LM, Glasgow BJ.
Jules Stein Eye Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California, USA.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Corneal impression cytology is usually performed with mixed cellulose ester membranes and a limited array of stains. A method using polycarbonate membrane air-dried preparations led to the discovery of fluorescein staining in cells from patients with and without dry eye disease and a membrane-induced defect that was not due to cell removal.

METHODS: Impressions after fluorescein installation were performed using polycarbonate and mixed cellulose ester membranes with rapid staining protocols for Diff-Quick as well as haematoxylin and eosin stains. Prior to staining the air-dried material was examined for fluorescence.

RESULTS: Epithelia of both normal and dry eye corneas retained fluorescence from clinical instillation of fluorescein. Corneal defects created by the polycarbonate membrane could not be explained by membrane-induced cell removal. After rapid staining, polycarbonate membranes revealed less background, dissolved easily prior to coverslip application, but showed lower cellular yield compared with the mixed cellulose membranes.

CONCLUSION: Polycarbonate membrane impression cytology enables immediate assessment with rapid stains. Topically applied fluorescein penetrates corneal epithelial cells in both normal and dry eye patients. Cells fluoresce on the cytology membranes. The impression-induced defect on the cornea is not due to cell stripping and may represent removal of mucins.

Newsblurb: Size of the dry eye market

According to CBMD.T: $1.7 billion in 2009, with annual growth at 10-11%. 70 million people in the U.S., one of the most aggressive estimates I've come across.

Hm. So if Alcon's right about $1b of that being artificial tears alone, then Restasis at last count was cleaning up nearly half as much in revenues as all artificial tears put together.

CBDM.T®, The Market and Business Intelligence Company Reviews The Dry Eye Disease Treatment Market

Paris, France (PRWEB) April 28, 2010 -- Dry eye disease (DED) is one of the most frequently encountered ocular morbidities. 25 % percent of patients who visit ophthalmic clinics report symptoms of dry eye, making it a growing public health problem and one of the most common conditions seen by eye care practitioners. Dry eye affects an estimated 20 to 30 million people in the United States and is one of the most common reasons that people visit their eye doctor. Dry eye’s prevalence estimation is very variable but we could estimate that more than 70 million people are or will be affected by dry ocular symptoms. According to CBDM.T, Dry Eye represents one of the fastest growing pharmaceutical product categories in the ophthalmology market at over 10% growth per annum to 2014. The market potential for dry eye drugs is projected to reach 1 billion USD by 2015.

The first line of treatment is usually eye drops that act as artificial tears and give some temporary relief. Restasis (cyclosporine A ophthalmic emulsion) 0.05% is the first approved prescription product in the United States for the treatment of dry eye disease. Restasis (Allergan) sales were 270 million USD in 2006s to 444 million USD by 2008.
The first line of treatment is usually eye drops. We estimate the market for artificial tears at more than one billion USD this year. Eye drops act as artificial tears and give temporary relief, but there is no cure for dry eye syndrome In 2008, more than 15 products were under development from discovery, preclinical, clinical phase 1, clinical phase 2 (5 products) to clinical phase 3 with 8 products. The leading companies in this market are Novartis, Alcon (acquired by Novartis), Bausch & Lomb, Vistakon (J&J), Allergan, Pfizer and AMO (Abbott Medical Optics Inc).

According to CBDM.T®, the market and business intelligence company, the Dry Eye Disease (DED) market is huge and growing valued at 1.7 billion USD in 2009 with an annual growth of about 10 to 11%. The Dry Eye Disease (DED) market could account for more than 2.4 billion USD by 2014. If we look at treatments and products, there is no cure for dry eyes syndrome. There are different products to moderate the dryness of the eye. For mild and moderate cases, supplemental lubrication is the main part of the treatment. Inflammation occurring in response to tears film hypertonicity can be suppressed by mild topical steroids or with topical immunosuppressants such as cyclosporine.

The main pharmaceutical companies have recently attempted to acquire market share. In 2010, Novartis bought Alcon’s remaining 52% for $28.1 billion (now making 77%). “The first line of treatment is usually eye drops. We estimate the market for artificial tears at more than one billion USD this year. Eye drops act as artificial tears and give temporary relief, but there is no cure for dry eye syndrome” comments Philippe Tramoy, managing partner.

Key players: Alcon, Allergan, Bausch&Lomb, Novartis, Ocusoft, Eagle Vision, Oasis Medical, Santen, Novagali Pharma, Opko Health, Sirion Therapeutics, Alacrity Biosciences, Eyegate Pharma, Resolvyx Pharmaceuticals, Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Biocis Pharma, Argentis Pharmaceuticals.

Detailed products: Prolacria, Rebamipide, Ecabet Sodium, Vekacia, Vismed, Civamide, ST-603, ALTY-0501, AL-2178 FID109980, EGP-437, RX-10045, SAR-1118

If you need market and business intelligence services in the Dry Eye Disease market, please contact us at contact@cbdmt.com or you can also buy our latest Dry Eye Disease (DED) Report on DED.