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India is emerging as a hub for ophthalmic clinical trials as eye diseases and disorders spur demand for novel drugs and devices, said Dr. Sri Ganesh, founder and CMD, Nethradhama Super Speciality Eye Hospitals.
There is access to vast data and large number of patients on eye diseases and disorders. This is much-needed for clinical trials. There is a full-fledged system in place adhering to guidelines and good clinical practices. Huge potential is seen to conduct human studies for both ophthalmic medicines and medical devices, he added.
Nethradhama has been part of important global trials. These are SMILE for hyperopia where we were one among the 6 centres in the world to conduct this study. For the VISUMAX 800 and the SMILE Pro to treat myopia and myopic astigmatism, our facility was also one of the 5 centres globally to conduct the trials, Dr Ganesh told Pharmabiz.
Also ophthalmic digitalization is transforming India’s eye health. Here most of the diagnostics and therapeutics are linked to a digital ecosystem which makes it much easier to transfer data. It eliminates transcription errors, increases patient safety and the efficiency of patient flow, so that we can see more patients in given time, he said.
Moreover, India is at the forefront of ophthalmology especially when it comes to usage of technology like lasers and intraocular lenses. Some of the technologies have been available in India even before the US. Even at the Phaco festival last month technologies like the EVO Viva presbyopia ICL by STAAR for patients with high myopia and aged over 40-45 years looking for a viable way out for both distance and near vision were launched. The Femtis M plus super premium laser intraocular lens gives both distance, intermediate, and near sight with good night vision without halos after cataract surgery, said Dr Ganesh.
From a Nethradhama perspective, it was one of the first to use the iStent to treat glaucoma along with cataract surgery. Patients on glaucoma drops following cataract surgery report side effects like hyperpigmentation, increase in lash growth or dry eyes. Then an invasive procedure trabeculectomy was needed to reduce intraocular pressure. Now with the iStent, during the cataract surgery itself, ophthalmic surgeons place 2 stents which drains the fluid from the eye and reduces the pressure. Our hospital has implanted over 30 of these iStents leading to 90% of the patients being off the glaucoma drops as their eye pressures is under control, he said.
In this era of ophthalmic digitalization & and workflow efficiency, there is a huge need to upskill and train ophthalmologists, technicians and optometrists on how to use all the advanced technology. The Bengaluru-based eye care major offers graduation in optometry and master’s in optometry, DNB and postdoctoral fellowships. There are also short-term training courses, on the advanced technologies.
The future of ophthalmology care is promising. India is at the forefront of ophthalmology expertise and is now looking at artificial intelligence to select intraocular lenses and even diagnose diabetic retinopathy. But for a population of 1.4 billion. India has only around 26,791 ophthalmologists. The shortage of eye specialists is alarming especially in the rural areas since most of the doctors are concentrated in the urban areas, noted Dr Ganesh.
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