Novagali Pharma has announced the commercial launch of its first product Cationorm® in France. The product treats the dry eye symptoms through the company’s patented technology Novasorb®. The product reproduces the tear mechanism in various levels in the tear film. The clinical study of the product has demonstrated long lasting advantages for the patients.

Akorn announced that it has received FDA approval for its Ofloxacin Ophthalmic Solution USP, 0.3%. Ofloxacin Ophthalmic Solution USP, 0.3%, is the generic version of Ophthalmic Solution to treat infections caused by bacteria in conjunctivitis and corneal ulcers. The branded drug had generated sales of approximately $7.5 million in 2007. Akorn plans to manufacture the generic drug in its Decatur, Illinois, facility, and expects to launch the drug in the third quarter of 2008.

A study published in the Archives of Ophthalmology has indicated an association between women who take postmenopausal hormones and the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which is the chief cause of blindness and loss of vision among older adults. According to the study led by Diane Feskanich, for women who had taken oral contraceptives, postmenopausal hormones reduced the risk of progression to advanced stages of AMD.

According to a study published in the March/April edition of the Indian Journal of Ophthalmology, cortical cataracts, old age and the female gender appear to be potential factors for the development of corticocapsular adhesions. The authors of the study said, “To reduce morbidity, identification of associations with (corticocapsular adhesions) can be helpful in appropriately modifying the (cataract surgery) procedure.”

According to a research presented at the 28th Annual Conference of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery, a non-invasive laser procedure that uses laser-induced scatter and fluorescence measurements to detect a specific protein that accumulates in the brain and eyes of Alzheimer’s patients has shown favourable results in laboratory work. Alzheimer’s disease, which is the most common cause of dementia and the 12th leading cause of death in the U.S., is characterized by the accumulation of toxic deposits of the Beta-amyloid (BA) protein in the brain and in the eye lens.

According to a study funded by the National Eye Institute, corneal transplants that use older donors’ tissues have similar chances of survival as those of younger donors. The study was published in Ophthalmology, and its recommendations may lead to the age pool of donors being extended up to 75 years.