During a session at the American Glaucoma Society Annual Meeting, titled “The Future Starts Now – What’s Next in the Supraciliary Space and Interventional Drug Delivery,” Adam Reynolds, MD, of Intermountain Eye Centers, spoke about AlloFlo and how it can control intraocular pressure (IOP) for patients with open-angle glaucoma (OAG).
Uveoscleral outflow has been deemed a “good target for a variety of reasons,” according to Dr. Reynolds, “we just haven’t been able to harness it.” Since 1905, he said, the field has been assessing this and faced challenges in the ability to maintain the space, control hypotony, and find a way to durably reinforce this to maintain patency of the cleft without causing problems.
Dr. Reynolds talked about how material matters and why to consider sclera for this, which he said is soft and porous. Advantages of this approach include:
- Bio-conforming and bio-compatible to surrounding tissue
- Optimal against fibrosis/foreign body response
- Minimal mechanical pro-fibrotic mismatch to native tissue surround
- Highly porous and hydro-permeable
The AlloFlo system is a first-in-class bio-interventional solution used to enhance a cyclodialysis uveoscleral outflow channel, a sclerostomy, an over-filtering trabecular flap, an optic disc pit, or other internal endoscleral structures. AlloFlo is hardware-free and a 100% naturally derived bio-tissue.
Dr. Reynolds then reviewed the preliminary 1-year data from the CREST Registry, a real-world, observational study that showed significant IOP reduction and a reduced need for medication in patients with OAG who underwent a procedure with the CycloPen System and AlloFlo Bio-Tissue. At 1 year:
- 0% of patients achieved IOP control of ≤18 mmHg
- 4% achieved ≥20% IOP reduction
- 0% reduced the need for IOP-lowering medications
Dr. Reynolds concluded by calling AlloFlo a “promising technology” that can be used in combined procedures for glaucoma and cataracts. Longer-term effectiveness and endothelial cell density data (at 3-5 years) will be needed to confirm its benefit in OAG.
Disclosure: Dr. Reynolds is an advisor to Iantrek Inc., manufacturer of AlloFlo.
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