Apellis Pharmaceuticals (Crestwood, Ky.) has entered into an agreement to buy Potentia Pharmaceuticals. As part of the acquisition agreement, Apellis obtained the necessary intellectual property rights to develop its complement inhibitor drug compound (APL-2) in ophthalmology, the company said.

Investigators at Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Harvard Medical School Department of Ophthalmology (Boston) and colleagues reported the development and characterization of a comprehensive genetic test for inherited eye disorders "is both highly accurate and reproducible," the university said. The Genetic Eye Disease (GEDi) test includes all of the genes known to harbor mutations that cause inherited retinal degenerations, optic atrophy and early onset glaucoma. The GEDi test uses targeted capture and next generation sequencing techniques to sequence 226 genes known to cause inherited eye disorders.

The National Eye Institute has awarded researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (New York) a 5-year grant totaling $1 million that will support an effort to recreate patients' ocular stem cells and restore vision in those blinded by corneal disease, the school said in a news release.

RESEARCH BRIEFS

• Progression of anterior capsule contraction and posterior capsule opacification is less likely in aphakic eyes than in IOL-implanted eyes, according to Masamoto Aose, MD, and colleagues. They performed phacoemulsification in 8-week-old white rabbits. A hydrophobic acrylate IOL (12.5 mm) (YA-60BBR) was implanted in 1 eye and no IOL was implanted in the fellow eye. Slit lamp microscopy and anterior segment analysis were performed to evaluate anterior capsule contraction after the surgery. Starting 2 weeks after surgery, anterior capsule contraction progressed more significantly in the IOL group than in the group without IOLs. Four weeks postoperatively, lens epithelial cell (LEC) thickness at the posterior capsule was significantly less in the group without IOLs than in the IOL group. In the culture study, LEC proliferation was more inhibited in the aqueous humor group than in the saline group. The study is published online ahead of print in the Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.
• In the first study to report the incidence of IOL opacification after undergoing Descemet's stripping endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK), M.A. Ahad and colleagues found that while the mechanism is unknown, multiple injections of air into the anterior chamber statistically increased the risk of IOL opacification. They retrospectively reviewed case notes from a single center of all patients undergoing DSAEK, who were either already pseudophakic or had simultaneous cataract surgery. Cases with IOL opacification were analyzed, and any risk factors were identified. A total of 168 DSAEK cases were performed on 154 eyes of 137 patients. Of those, 54 had simultaneous cataract surgery with implantation of an IOL. Fifteen (9.7%) eyes developed IOL opacification. Median time interval from keratoplasty to the first observation of IOL opacification was 17 months (range, 4-34 months). The only statistically significant risk factor was rebubbling of detached endothelial grafts. Rebubbling was performed in 62.5% (10/15) of cases with IOL opacification, compared with 23% (32/139) with no opacification (P=0.0009). The study is published in Cornea.
• Nanosecond laser resolved drusen independent of retinal damage and improved Bruch's membrane structure, suggesting this treatment has the potential to reduce age-related macular degeneration progression, according to A.I. Jobling and colleagues at the Centre for Eye Research Australia (CERA). Fifty patients with AMD had a single nanosecond laser treatment session (2RT, Ellex, Adelaide, Australia), and after 2 years, change in drusen area was compared with an untreated cohort of patients. The retinal effect of the laser was determined in human and mouse eyes with thickened Bruch's membrane using immunohistochemistry and compared with untreated eyes. In patients with AMD, nanosecond laser treatment reduced drusen load at 2 years. Retinal structure was not compromised in human and mouse retina after laser treatment, with only a discrete retinal pigment epithelium injury and limited mononuclear cell response observed. Bruch's membrane was thinned in the thickened Bruch's membrane mouse 3 months after treatment, with the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-2 and -3 increased (>260%). The study is published in The FASEB Journal.