Imprimis Pharmaceuticals, an ophthalmology-focused pharmaceutical company, and SightLife Surgical, a cornea-focused organization providing comprehensive services to ophthalmic surgeons, announced the signing of an exclusive strategic sales and marketing agreement. Under the agreement, SightLife Surgical will deploy their sales team to offer Imprimis’ Serum Tears compounded formulations to physicians, large practice groups, surgery centers, hospitals and healthcare organizations nationwide. Imprimis’ Serum Tears™ autologous serum eye drops (ASEDs) are prescribed for chronic dry eye patients who do not respond to traditional dry eye treatments.
Patients with dry eye severity typically do not respond to conventional therapy and may be considered candidates for autologous serum eye drops as a treatment option. Published data have demonstrated the benefits of using an individual’s serum found in their blood, which contain antibodies and growth factors, as an eye drop therapy for chronic dry eye. Under the planned Imprimis ASEDs program, Serum Tears will be available in all 50 states in varying ranges of saline dilution combinations.
Mark L. Baum, CEO of Imprimis, stated, “Our goals in 2017 include the roll-out of a formidable array of offerings to compete in the three largest U.S. ophthalmic markets: cataract surgery, glaucoma and dry eye. We are pleased to have accelerated the first phase of the launch of our dry eye program by partnering with the largest and most prestigious eye bank in the world. Through this exclusive relationship, we expect to reach and serve leading corneal surgeons and their patients whose dry eye conditions may be alleviated with our innovative ASEDs offering. Partnering with SightLife Surgical represents an important step in our strategic plan to efficiently expand our sales presence and increase our growing customer base.”
SightLife Surgical provides corneal tissue and medical devices to surgeons around the world who are performing corneal transplant procedures. Serum Tears™ may be used as a preventative treatment of a transplant for patients who suffer from corneal epithelial defects (i.e. abrasions) caused by dry eye, which makes it a valuable product for the surgeons they serve.
“With the assistance of the Imprimis team, we intend to train and deploy our sales team on this innovative product for severe dry eye disease,” said Monty Montoya, president and CEO of SightLife Surgical. “This partnership with Imprimis uniquely positions us to help the thousands of domestic physicians treating dry eye and makes this important product widely available to patients in need of these drops across the country. Imprimis’ Serum Tears™ compounded formulations represent a perfect addition to our portfolio and this opportunity aligns with our commitment to bring products to the market that are designed to help ophthalmic surgeons provide the best possible outcomes for their patients.”
About Dry Eye Disease
Dry eye is among the most common conditions seen by eye care professionals. Dry eye occurs when the eye does not produce enough tears, or when the tears are not of the correct consistency and evaporate too quickly. Inflammation of the surface of the eye may also occur. Dry eye disease, also referred to as keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS), dysfunctional tear syndrome, lacrimal keratoconjunctivitis, evaporative tear deficiency, aqueous tear deficiency, and LASIK-induced neurotrophic epitheliopathy (LNE), can be a temporary or chronic condition. Causes for dry eye include inflammatory eye conditions, post-refractive and other ocular surgery, contact lens use, decreased hormones associated with aging, and numerous other factors. An estimated 5.6 million ocular surgeries were performed in the U.S. in 2016 and over 40 million Americans wear contact lenses. It is reported that 20 to 30 million people suffer from mild dry eye, and nine to 12 million have moderate to severe dry eye. Although dry eye can impact people of any age, elderly people are frequently affected with a reported five million afflicted with DED.