San Clemente-based Glaukos Corp. (NYSE: GKOS) recently released results of a five-year study for its glaucoma stent showing an advantage over eye drops.
The study divided newly diagnosed primary open-angle glaucoma patients into two groups: They either received two iStents in a standalone procedure or travoprost, a once-daily topical eye drop.
The 101-subject study was published in “Ophthalmology Glaucoma.”
“Topical ocular hypotensive medications are typical first-line glaucoma therapy, but these drugs can be ineffective due to high rates of patient non-adherence, ocular surface damage, cost and other factors,” Dr. Robert Fechtner, an ophthalmic surgeon based in Syracuse, N.Y. and lead author of the article, said in a prepared statement from Glaukos. “This study shows that not only are Glaukos’ iStents as effective as once-daily topical travoprost in controlling IOP [intraocular pressure], but they also succeed at maintaining IOP reductions over the long term with fewer additional medications.”
Vision loss from glaucoma occurs when intraocular pressure is too high. The disease is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide, affecting over 60 million, according to Glaucoma Research Foundation.
Glaukos pioneered a new category for surgical devices known as minimally invasive glaucoma surgery, or MIGS.
The company said the latest publication of the five-year study “adds meaningful outcome data to the growing body of peer-reviewed evidence that implantation of a single or multiple iStents can reliably achieve sustained [intraocular pressure] reductions in an elegant, tissue-sparing procedure with a highly favorable safety profile,” Chief Executive Thomas Burns said in a statement.
Shares of Glaukos (NYSE: GKOS) have more than doubled in the past year to $75.32 and it now has a $2.6 billion market cap.
Competitor Ivantis Inc. in Irvine recently published a two-year study that claimed its Hydrus Microstent compared favorably against Glaukos’ iStent. Hydrus was cleared by the FDA in August.
