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New insights into AMD: A recent study maps the retinal sialome and finds reduced sialic acid at the Bruch's membrane–choroid interface in AMD eyes—potentially impacting complement regulation via factor H (FH). #AMD #Ophthalmology #ComplementSystem buff.ly/jvrGu4F

submitted 5 hours ago • 1 comment

Despite the layoffs and lab closures at BlueRock, their ocular asset OpCT-001, an investigational iPSC-derived cell therapy, should not be affected. OpCT-001 entered phase I/II trials earlier this year. #celltherapy #ophthalmology #clinicaltrials

submitted 3 days ago • 0 comments

Stuart Therapeutics’ dry eye drug ST-100 failed its Phase 3 trial. Despite promising Phase 2 data, the novel collagen-repair eyedrop didn’t meet endpoints. They plan another study—but it’s a tough road in #DryEyeDisease R&D. #Biotech #Ophthalmology

submitted 4 days ago • 0 comments

ForSight Robotics raises $125M to bring robotic precision to cataract surgery. ORYOM® platform uses AI + robotics to perform ultra-steady eye surgery—10× more precise than the human hand. #MedTech #AI #SurgicalRobotics #Ophthalmology

submitted 5 days ago • 0 comments

🇬🇧 The UK wants to be a top 3 global life sciences economy by 2035. How? 🔬 Supercharge R&D & NHS trials 🏗️ Expand labs + upskill 145K workers 💼 £2.5B Innovation Fund 🌐 Global deals + big pharma hubs #LifeSciences #Biotech #UKInnovation #ClinicalTrials buff.ly/7xMbY7g

submitted 6 days ago • 0 comments

New single-cell atlas of dry AMD in macaques reveals early retinal degeneration, impaired Müller glia plasticity & ferroptosis-driven neural loss. Ferroptosis inhibitors show promise in mice. Big step toward dry AMD therapies! #AMD #scRNAseq #Ophthalmology

submitted 11 days ago • 0 comments

🧠 New stroke research identifies CFHR4 and MBL2 as key biomarkers for predicting long-term outcomes in Acute Cerebral Infarction. Findings support the role of CHZF Capsule in modulating immune pathways. 🔗 NCT06874140 #Stroke #CFHR4 #MBL2 #NeuroScience buff.ly/RbG3ItA

submitted 13 days ago • 0 comments

High-res, motion-corrected OCT enables precise tracking of subretinal drusenoid deposits in intermediate AMD. Most remain stable, but some regress, fuse, or newly form—enhancing biomarker analysis. 👁️🔬 #AMD #OCT #Imaging #RetinaResearch #Ophthalmology buff.ly/igXYP2C

submitted 14 days ago • 0 comments

This should see a shot in the arm of BioTech in Tübingen - BioNTech now has a brand new GMP manufacturing site for mRNA vaccines. BioNTech buys German mRNA vaccine peer CureVac in $1.2B all-stock deal

submitted 16 days ago • 0 comments

New study: Elevated systemic complement factors predict faster progression from intermediate to advanced AMD. Early identification could enable personalized care before vision loss. 🧬👁️ #AMD #Ophthalmology #Biomarkers #EyeHealth #Research buff.ly/fT23vxR

submitted 17 days ago • 0 comments

Great to see that investments are still being made in the ophthalmic gene therapy space. I hope this vision niche remains strong despite the problems faced by systemic gene therapy approaches. #ophthalmology #AAV #genetherapy

submitted 18 days ago • 0 comments

Recent review explores that GA and CNV/MNV often coexist in late AMD, sharing genetic and clinical risk factors, and suggests they form a disease continuum, not separate entities. #AMD #CNV #GA buff.ly/vCZXq8Z

submitted 19 days ago • 0 comments

AI-driven OCT segmentation of geographic atrophy strongly correlates with visual sensitivity loss, matching manual FAF mapping. This supports its clinical value as an automated, reliable tool for tracking disease progression in AMD. #AI #AMD buff.ly/8Wl19tQ

submitted 20 days ago • 0 comments

Interesting to see that FHR proteins have now been found to accumulate in the synovial lining in rheumatoid arthritis, co-localising with C3. Study concluded that FHRs (mainly FHR3) may be driving complement activation. #complement #RA #FHRs buff.ly/b3hOgIX

submitted 24 days ago • 0 comments

Altered heparan sulphate architecture causes FHR-1 to disrupt FH function, increasing complement activation on mesangial cells. This is similar to how GAG changes in the blood/retinal barrier affect complement activity. #GAGs #FHRs #complement buff.ly/No5uT9h

submitted 25 days ago • 0 comments

Increasing complement factor H and fibrinogen induce Parkinson's-like symptoms in mice - a new model to use in the fight against neurological conditions such as PD? I have questions...#PD #complement buff.ly/K1xzfWD

submitted 26 days ago • 0 comments

Study reveals key complement proteins, including C3 and FHR-2, are elevated in the urine of Diabetic Kidney Disease (DKD) patients. FHR-2 shows superior diagnostic power for predicting early DKD occurrence and progression . #DKD #complement #CFHR buff.ly/GIsa49s

submitted 27 days ago • 0 comments

A follow-up from the OAKS and DERBY trials examines visual acuity and quality of life, showing significant data only when GA lesions are ≥250 μm from the foveal center, with no difference for lesions closer to the fovea. #AMD #complement #GA buff.ly/MHyT3YX

submitted 28 days ago • 0 comments

With growing interest in the relationship between ocular imaging and neurological conditions, such as Alzheimer's Disease, this is a timely study describing transcriptomic profiling of choroid/RPE and Sclera from both AMD and AD eyes. buff.ly/E9HQVWq

submitted 33 days ago • 1 comment

Very nice study comparing the differential ocular gene expression of complement genes and localisation of proteins between human, NHP and rodent species. Spoiler alert 🚨 - they're not the same 😉 #complement #expression #eye buff.ly/v7XS3As

submitted 34 days ago • 0 comments

An interesting new review exploring the relationship between retinal structure and function in Geographic Atrophy with important implications for clinical trial readouts. #GA #AMD #clinicaltrials buff.ly/dYfu204

submitted 38 days ago • 0 comments

$256 million is the price to pay for a whole lot of genetic data. Regeneron has acquired 23andMe along with a wealth of data from around 15 million people. I wouldn’t even know where to start 😵‍💫 Regeneron’s $256M bid wins 23andMe bankruptcy auction

submitted 40 days ago • 0 comments

Some good news from the ocular gene therapy field. Good safety profile drug delivered using an AAV.SPR virus capsid which is designed to spread outward from the injection site to reach the entire retina. #genetherapy #ophthalmology

submitted 41 days ago • 0 comments

Acelyrin's Board finally approve merger with Alumis after activist shareholder's intervention, hopefully securing the continued clinical testing of lonigutamab for thyroid eye disease. #thyroideyedisease

submitted 42 days ago • 0 comments

The latest podcast from the Biotech Pulse has dropped with a behind-the-scenes look at how Complement Therapeutics was built from groundbreaking science into a promising biotech venture. #startups Comments on your experiences welcomed below 👇

submitted 45 days ago • 0 comments

CRISPR patent saga continues 🙄 Appeals court rules the original ruling in 2022 to have fault, and refer the case back for reassessment. Fall out from this unlikely to help gene editing companies in a currently difficult space. #CRISPR #patent

submitted 46 days ago • 0 comments

A nice recent summary of the different functional regions of FH (and FHL-1) and how they may contribute to disease. #complement #FH #FHL-1 The 4 functional segments of Factor H: Role in physiological target recognition and contribution to disease buff.ly/nqoA25x

submitted 47 days ago • 0 comments

An interesting conversation around the exact contribution of genetic risk to GA progression. Genetic risk highlights potential driving mechanisms early in disease, so it would be best to target very early, and not late-stage, disease!

submitted 48 days ago • 1 comment

Another glimmer of success in the ophthalmic gene therapy space. Hopefully this translates to real gains in the final phase II read-out. #XLRP #AAV Beacon's rare eye disease gene therapy signals vision function improvements in early phase 2 data

submitted 48 days ago • 0 comments

RallyBio faces challenges after dropping their lead drug but remains committed to their anti-C5 RLYB116 for PNH, gMG, and APS. Uncertainty surrounds the continuation of their preclinical anti-C5 RLYB114 for AMD...? #AMD #complement

submitted 51 days ago • 0 comments

Interesting study on Anoikis in diabetic nephropathy shows HTRA1's positive correlation with immune cell recruitment and activation. What can this teach us about this ECM-protease's role in the blood/retinal barrier in AMD? #AMD #HTRA1 #anoikis buff.ly/Fbd1DR3

submitted 55 days ago • 0 comments

Yet another slot of evidence that FHR proteins, and their accumulation in tissues, disrupts the natural order of things. Here, loss of function mutations in FHR-5 are strongly associated with protection against age-related macular degeneration (AMD). buff.ly/aAF9th2

submitted 56 days ago • 1 comment

Looking forward to this years ARVO conference in Salt Lake City! Love attending the premier ophthalmology conference of the year, hearing of the latest developments, and meeting up with collaborators old and new.

submitted 59 days ago • 0 comments

What a win for metagenomics - identifying a mysterious eye infection that had persisted for five years and threatened a young lady's sight. The successful treatment only took three weeks to resolve the issue! #infectiousdisease #ophthalmology #genomics

submitted 60 days ago • 0 comments

Following the recent announcement from the FDA, the NIH is also now prioritizing a move away from animal-based research in favor of more human focused models Looks like retinal organoids really are the way forward 😁 #AMD #ophthalmology

submitted 61 days ago • 0 comments

36 month data from OAKS, DERBY, and GALE trials with Pegcetacoplan treatments for GA have just dropped. Treatment continues to slow GA progression, but next-gen therapies need to show more, faster and with functional improvements #AMD #GA #complement buff.ly/Y32bNhX

submitted 62 days ago • 0 comments

Interesting study showing a truncated form of FH (AAV-delivered to the liver) can restore C3b deposition levels in a mouse model of C3G. Really neat to see a gene therapy approach showing such promising results. #C3G #AAV #complement buff.ly/6JhIzZU

submitted 63 days ago • 0 comments

Just recorded a new episode of The Biotech Pulse with Dr. Dmitrij Hristodorov and Daniela Couto, offering advice to founders spinning out of academia. It drops next week on all podcast platforms! #investments #biotech #spinouts

submitted 66 days ago • 0 comments

Very interesting finding in circulating extracellular vesicles (EV) - an excellent correlation between FH and TMEM205 EV levels and Platinum resistance in high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma. #HGSOC #cancer #complement buff.ly/eFy0r2Q

submitted 67 days ago • 0 comments

Interesting insights into biomarkers in ALS - complement C3, FH and clusterin all seem to correlate with disease #ALS #complement buff.ly/MuK8K6r

submitted 69 days ago • 0 comments

I still struggle with the hype around AI and its immediate, transformative impact. However, I am excited by AI's real applications in identifying disease pathways, drug repurposing, and patient stratification for treatments. #AI #drugdiscovery

submitted 70 days ago • 0 comments

Data implicating the Lectin Pathway in retinal complement activation and its role in AMD. Speculation about it in the NaIO3 model of GA, but limited genetic or biochemical data exists for human AMD. Perhaps worth further investigation? #complement #AMD buff.ly/fSlZKmd

submitted 73 days ago • 0 comments

Study suggests that the co-existence of subclinical CNV with GA may be significantly under-reported. Not clear yet if this affects treatment, but the authors suggest that these two phenotypic phenomenon should be considered together and not two separate entities. #AMD #CNV #GA buff.ly/8nvUcpp

submitted 74 days ago • 0 comments