Sight Sciences Announces Publication of Historical Review of Canal Surgery in the Glaucoma Issue of Current Opinion in Ophthalmology

MENLO PARK, Calif., March 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Sight Sciences, Inc., a growth-stage medical device company focused on transforming the treatment of glaucoma and dry eye disease, today announced that a review of the history of canal surgery in glaucoma, by Jaime Dickerson, Ph.D., and Reay Brown, M.D., has been published in Current Opinion in Ophthalmology.

The review, titled "Circumferential canal surgery: a brief history," highlights the long history of microinvasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) which has changed the course of treatment and prognosis for patients with glaucoma particularly over the past ten to fifteen years. MIGS procedures are effective, create little trauma to ocular tissues, and allow a rapid patient recovery with a low complication rate. While the term "MIGS" was coined just under a decade ago, minimally invasive glaucoma surgery was pioneered over 80 years ago with the work of Dr. Otto Barkan who first performed clear corneal or "ab interno" angle surgery in 1936. There has been a revolution in minimally invasive glaucoma surgery technology since Dr. Barkan's very first goniotomy using a metal blade.

Innovations in sophisticated microcatheter technology applied to glaucoma have allowed for minimally invasive surgical treatment of the entire conventional outflow pathway through either circumferential trabeculotomy or circumferential viscodilation of the distal drainage pathway including Schlemm's Canal and the collector channels. Drs. Dickerson and Brown review the extensive data in the scientific and medical literature that provide positive support for the distinct mechanisms of action of both circumferential trabeculotomy and circumferential viscodilation which together encompass more than 1,000 patients.

Published research has demonstrated that the trabecular meshwork accounts for approximately 60-70% of the outflow resistance while Schlemm's canal and the distal collector channels make up approximately the other 30-40% of outflow resistance so a surgical solution that could address all three sources of outflow resistance would be desirable.((1)) Most recently, the combination of these two procedures performed sequentially from an ab interno approach has been made possible with the company's OMNI(®) Surgical System.

"The OMNI procedure allows surgeons to treat all three points of resistance--the trabecular meshwork, Schlemm's canal, and the distal collector system--with a single operation. This achieves a maximal impact with minimal risk and no implant is left behind. The OMNI system also allows surgeons to titrate the extent of angle treated based on the clinical goals. The success of this approach is supported by an abundance of historical data and a growing number of peer-reviewed studies," said Dr. Reay Brown, Chief Medical Officer of Sight Sciences and co-author of the review.

About OMNI(®) Surgical System
The OMNI Surgical System is a manually operated device for delivery of small amounts of viscoelastic fluid, for example Healon(®) or HealonGV(®) from Abbott Medical Optics (AMO), Amvisc(®) from Bausch & Lomb, or PROVISC(®) from Alcon, during ophthalmic surgery. It is also indicated to cut trabecular meshwork tissue during trabeculotomy procedures.

The OMNI System should not be used in cases where there is insufficient visualization of the anterior chamber. The following conditions may prohibit sufficient visualization required for safe and successful cannula and microcatheter placement: corneal edema, corneal haze, corneal opacity, or any other conditions that may inhibit surgeon view.

The OMNI Surgical System is a tool, not a treatment, and is indicated for use as specified above; it is not specifically cleared by the FDA to lower intraocular pressure in patients with open angle glaucoma.

About Sight Sciences
Founded in 2011, Sight Sciences has developed, and is now commercial with intelligently designed and engineered products that target the underlying causes of the world's most prevalent eye diseases. The company's surgical glaucoma product portfolio features the OMNI(®) Surgical System, a dually-indicated device that facilitates the performance of both trabeculotomy and transluminal viscoelastic delivery. Using proprietary multi-modal functionality, OMNI allows surgeons to target all three sources of resistance in the conventional outflow pathway (trabecular meshwork, Schlemm's canal, and collector channels) with a single device and single corneal incision.

The company's non-surgical Dry Eye product portfolio consists of TearCare(®) for ophthalmologists and optometrists. TearCare is a software-controlled, wearable eyelid technology that delivers highly targeted and adjustable heat to the meibomian glands of the eyelids. Leveraging the full functionality of the blinking eye, proprietary SmartLid(®) technology is designed to facilitate natural meibum expression when meibum is in its softened phase. TearCare's innovative, "equipment-light" product design and the intuitive procedure facilitates create a highly attractive clinical and economic model for eye care providers.

For more information, please visit sightsciences.com.

OMNI(®) is a registered trademark of Sight Sciences.
© 2020 Sight Sciences. All rights reserved.

Media contact:
Shay Smith
Health+Commerce
707.971.9779
Shay@healthandcommerce.com

((1)) Rosenquist R, Epstein D, Melamed S, Johnson M, Grant WM. Outflow resistance of enucleated human eyes at two different perfusion pressures and different extents of trabeculotomy. Current Eye Research 1989;8:1233-1240.

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sight-sciences-announces-publication-of-historical-review-of-canal-surgery-in-the-glaucoma-issue-of-current-opinion-in-ophthalmology-301031324.html

SOURCE Sight Sciences, Inc.