Priority review for macular degeneration therapy:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The US FDA has granted priority review status to Coherent Medical's combined laser and drug treatment for the wet form of age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness in people over the age of 50 in the western world. Visudyne therapy uses the company's OPAL photoactivator laser with the drug verteporferin. It was submitted to the agency as a joint device/drug application by Coherent and QLT PhotoTherapeutics. Priority status indicates that the FDA will review the application for approval within six months, said Santa Barbara, California-based Coherent.