Genentech, maker of Lucentis treatment for wet macular degeneration, announced that it is working with ForSight VISION4 to develop a drug delivery system, designed to provide sustained release of Lucentis.  Lucentis, given monthly, is considered the "gold standard" of treatment for macular degeneration.  However, researchers and clinicians have found that most patients do well with less than monthy injections of either Lucentis or Avastin.  A new drug, EYLEA, is approved for treatment every other month and in a clinical trial was comparable to Lucentis.

Michael Gorin, MD, PhD at Jules Stein Eye Institute at UCLA is looking for individuals age 49-65 years old, who have at least one parent with macular degeneration. He is conducting a nationwide study of genetic and other risk factors that contribute to the development of age-related macular degeneration.   You or members of your family may be eligible to participate - and you don't have to travel at all!

In the current issue of the journal Lancet, Dr. Steven Schwartz shared the results of the first two patients in the Advanced Cell Technology (ACT) clinical trial, using stem cell generated retinal cells. Both patients tolerated the surgery well without complications and at six months, their vision had improved somewhat.

At the Retina 2012 Conference January 17, 2012, Dr. Peter Kaiser presented an update on Eylea.  This new therapy for wet macular degeneration from Regeneron was approved by the FDA on November 18, 2011 and is currently available to physicians as an option to Lucentis and Avastin.