Pharma's eye on the eye

As clichéd as it may sound, our eyes are the windows to the world. Without them, the journey can be tumultuous, literally and metaphorically. Interestingly, ophthalmology is among those medical fields that up until recently, was perceived as less “critical” than those dealing with conditions such as cardiovascular disease or cancer.

It has traditionally been characterized by a few specialist pharma players, less drug expenditure, and relatively low hospitalization needs1. However, ophthalmology has evolved with growing eye disease and the need for increasingly sophisticated treatments. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 285 million people worldwide were estimated to be visually impaired as of 2014.

Yet, 80% of all visual impairment is preventable2. The past few years have witnessed the emergence of new syndromes, the early onset of eye problems, and vision loss because of lifestyle diseases. This has spurred a significant surge in research and development (R&D) for vision loss prevention in the world of pharma.