Two Studies Find NuVision’s Omnigen Amniotic Membrane Effective in Improving Dry Eye Disease Symptomology
Management of DED symptomology is challenging. One in four of us will suffer from this debilitating condition with symptoms including sore, gritty, itchy, watery, or irritated eyes with or without discharge, and eye fatigue / strain.
Professor Wolffsohn at the College of Health & Life Sciences, Optometry & Vision Science Research Group (OVSRG), Aston University is a world expert in DED and contact lenses. Together with his colleague Dr Sònia Travé-Huarte, they have recently completed a world-first randomised controlled clinical trial to treat moderate-to-severe DED binocularly using amniotic membrane (Omnigen-VIEW) applied using a specialised bandage contact lens (OmniLenz-VIEW).
Findings indicate that a 1-week bilateral treatment of Omnigen-VIEW delivered a rapid, dramatic, and lasting improvement in patient symptomology and ocular surface health including promoting nerve regeneration. The research team concluded Omnigen-VIEW to be an exciting new treatment for suffers of moderate-to-severe DED.
Dr Travé-Huarte’s results from the “Dry eye OmniLenz application of Omnigen Research Study (DOORS)” can be viewed at poster 051 on the Royal College’s website (Link).
Continuing the collaboration, Aston are now recruiting for the next phase of clinical evaluation to optimise Omnigen as a routine treatment for DED….Read more.
An alternative treatment option in severe ocular diseases
Effective management of complex non-healing ocular surface disease including persistent corneal epithelial defects (PCED) is a major concern for ophthalmology services.
Dr Derek Ho, Corneal Research Fellow at the Corneal service, Bristol Eye Hospital, conducted research examining outcomes of managing severe ocular surface diseases in a suture-free outpatient setting, with Omnigen applied with OmniLenz at the trust over a 2.5-year period.
Findings suggest that considering the clinical complexity of patients managed at the trust, outcomes from use of Omnigen applied with OmniLenz are favourable and Omnigen-OmniLenz presents convenient and effective surgery-free treatment option available in the routine outpatient setting.
Dr Ho’s research “The use of human amniotic membrane-derived material in ocular surface healing promotion: a 2.5-year retrospective study” can be viewed on the college website as poster P031 (link).
About NuVision Biotherapies
Based in MediCity, Nottingham, NuVision Biotherapies is a regenerative medicine company spun out from the University of Nottingham. NuVision was established in 2015, founded on investment from Mercia Fund Management, to develop and bring to market cutting edge, regenerative therapies.
About Omnigen
Omnigen Tereo processed amniotic membrane, is a patented dry preparation of human amniotic membrane. Amniotic membrane is the innermost layer of the placental sac, which protects and holds the foetus during pregnancy. NuVision upcycles and transforms this waste product of birth into an effective wound care product. The Tereo manufacturing process, developed at the University of Nottingham’s Academic Ophthalmology department, transforms this waste product of birth into a sterile and stable dry therapy that can be easily shipped and accessed anywhere in the world. Omnigen is applied directly to the wound dry and is rapidly and effectively rehydrated using surrounding moisture to immediately reactivate the beneficial properties to promote tissue repair and healing in a variety of ways. The product represents a unique and versatile “off-the-shelf” healing product, and it may be stored long-term. The Tereo process preserves the wound healing action and provides surgeons with an effective sight saving therapy that could provide a meaningful benefit to patients, including those suffering from ocular surface disease and conditions with unmet medical need.
Omnigen VIEW is an Omnigen product range that include central aperture windows enabling Omnigen to be applied to patients eye without covering the visual axis and impeding sight.
About OmniLenz
OmniLenz is a specially-modified bandage contact lens designed to apply and hold Omnigen at the ocular surface without the need for sutures or surgery. OmniLenz is manufactured exclusively for NuVision by Menicon, UK. Omnigen can be applied by OmniLenz using a simple 4 – 6-minute procedure in an outpatient setting. The decision to apply Omnigen to the ocular surface using OmniLenz is at the discretion of the clinician. For the first time, the healing benefits of amniotic membrane can be routinely accessed in an outpatient setting, providing healthcare professionals with a new treatment option for a broader range of ocular surface diseases.
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Optometry and Vision Science Research Group, Aston University
The Optometry and Vision Science research group conduct world leading, translational, multidisciplinary research into vision and perception, visual develop and myopia, the crystalline lens and ocular surface, and vascular imaging of the eye.
Optometry and Vision Science Research Group focuses on four key topics of research: visual development and myopia, the crystalline lens and ocular surface, vision and perception, and vascular imaging. In addition, our research within the area of ophthalmic technology and devices has been identified as a Centre of Excellence.
We also feed into two of the College of Health and Life Sciences’ four key multidisciplinary themes; vision, cognition, and language, and health and disease across the lifespan, and work closely with colleagues within the Aston Research Centre for Healthy Ageing and Aston Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment.
Our work has significantly contributed to the global understanding of the development, use, preservation, and restoration of ocular function. We have been ranked as the world’s leading institution for expertise in presbyopia research (the ageing eye), and 4th in the world for expertise in contact lenses by Expertscape. We are also a leading centre for myopia research.
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https://www.aston.ac.uk/research/hls/optometry-and-vision-sciences-research-group
