Perth-based bio-nanotech company pSivida Ltd has won first prize in the field of Clinical Uveitis for a paper describing initial work on its lead ophthalmology product Retisert from the umbrella organisation of all German uveitis patient interest groups.
The awards, issued by the Deutsche Uveitis-Arbeitsgemeinschaft, are to honour the three best publications in peer-reviewed journals from the previous year that have made a significant contribution to the area of clinical or basic science in uveitis research, as judged by an international committee of some of the world's leading uveitis specialists.
'Long-term follow-up results of a pilot trial of a fluocinolone acetonide implant to treat posterior uveitis' published in Ophthalmology 2005 and co-authored by pSivida's Director of Strategy, Dr Paul Ashton, was awarded first prize in the field of 'Clinical Uveitis'.
Uveitis is a leading cause of blindness affecting an estimated 175,000 people in the US, 200,000 persons in the EU and
800,000 people worldwide. Uveitis is a chronic auto-immune disease in which the body's own defences attack the inner lining of
the eye (the uvea). Retisert is the only FDA approved drug for this disease. Surgically implanted into the eye, Retisert is approved to release a constant amount of the drug, fluocinolone acetonide, over a treatment period of 30 months.
pSivida receives royalties from sales of Retisert which sells for US$18,250 and covered in the United States by Medicare and Medicaid. Retisert was approved by the FDA in late 2005 and licensed to Bausch & Lomb (B&L).
