Researchers are experimenting on a treatment for rare eye cancer, which has already saved some children from vision loss. The US researchers also succeeded in restoring vision in a few cases. The method involved inserting a catheter in the eye via the body so that the chemotherapy drug melphalan, made by GlaxoSmithKline under the name of Alkeran, was administered directly to the tumour.

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.

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.