The first dual-action Glaucoma drug, Vyzulta, approved by FDA

(c) AAO

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Vyzulta™ (latanoprostene bunod ophthalmic solution, 0.024%), which is the first prostaglandin analog with one of its metabolites being nitric oxide (NO), indicated for the reduction of intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. Following topical administration, Vyzulta, a once daily monotherapy with a dual mechanism of action, works by metabolizing into two moieties, latanoprost acid, which primarily works within the uveoscleral pathway to increase aqueous humor outflow, and butanediol mononitrate, which releases NO to increase outflow through the trabecular meshwork and Schlemm's canal.

Orion, the Cortical Visual Prosthesis System, gets full FDA approval

(c) medgadget.com

The FDA has granted full approval to Second Sight Medical Products (SSMP) to begin the feasibility study for the Orion-I^TM Cortical Visual Prosthesis System. The approval allows two US sites, the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, to enroll up to five total patients. The company’s new Orion I Visual Cortical Prosthesis goes even further by bypassing the optic nerve, along with the entire visual system, and stimulates the brain’s visual cortex directly. This would allow even people who lack any functionality within their eyes to be able to see.