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ASCRS SYMPOSIA by Liz Hillman EyeWorld Senior Staff Writer and should, perhaps, take more of Dr. Ambati's focus. From a financial/investment standpoint, Dr. Link said that this would be a relatively expensive project to do properly and the first quality investment would need to see detailed planning out to FDA approval. Editors' note: The prize money for this event was sponsored by Carl Zeiss Meditec, Minnesota Eye Consultants, Flying-L-Partners, Ganot Capital, and Capitol Summit. The finalists have fi- nancial interests related to their products. said, avoids the risk of infection, expense, and pain associated with the current surgical option of corneal collagen crosslinking. This drug also has applica- tions to treat myopia as well, Dr. Ambati said. A Patent Coopera- tion Treaty (PCT) application has been filed for IVMED-80, and Dr. Ambati said funding thus far has been a combination of ophthal- mologist investment and other sources. The judges then offered their praise, critique, and advice to Dr. Ambati. Dr. Link said he found the presentation thoughtful and appreciated the fact that it was moving into clinic early. Mr. Maz- zo emphasized that he thinks myopia might be a bigger market for this drug submitted the idea outline to the Winning Pitch Challenge website, and received guidance. Finalists were selected and set up with mentors who provided advice on their business model and pitch deck development. Then, the finalists were ready to present their ideas at the Annual Meeting to a panel of judges that included Guy Katsav, Ganot Capital, San Francisco, Richard Lindstrom, MD, Minnesota Eye consultants, Minneapolis, William Link, PhD, Versant Ventures, San Francisco, and James Mazzo, Carl Zeiss Meditec, Jena, Germany. Judges used a scoring system for several different categories to select a winner. Dr. Ambati's winning pitch, more specifically, was about IVMED-80 (iVeena), which has received an orphan drug desig- nation from the FDA. This drug has copper as an active ingredient, to enhance the activity of lysyl oxidase. Keratoconus occurs, Dr. Ambati explained, when there is a deficiency of natural crosslinks in the cornea, which is associated with lysyl oxidase mutations. Donor tissue that had been treated with IVMED-80 showed better stress-strain curves, Dr. Ambati said. In vivo rabbit studies with IVMED-80 showed increased lysyl oxidase activity, which he noted as biomechanical evidence of increased crosslinking. There have been no toxic or adverse events. Currently, a Phase 1/2a clinical trial in Mexico is taking place with 36 keratoconus or post- LASIK ectasia patients who take two drops a day of either vehicle or IVMED-80. The primary end- point is reduction of Kmax and Kmean at 6 months with a sec- ondary endpoint of biomechanical stiffness. At 1 month, 0.6 D of flattening was observed, which Dr. Ambati compared to the 1.6 D of flattening seen at 1 year with the Dresden crosslinking protocol. A pharmacologic method of flattening the cornea, Dr. Ambati B ala Ambati, MD, Eugene, Oregon, took first place at the Winning Pitch Challenge, which has been described as like the Shark Tank of ophthalmology—with- out the bite. It was Dr. Ambati's pitch for a pharmacologic, nonsurgical option for keratoconus treatment (that also has applications for myopia and post-LASIK ectasia) that had judges awarding him with a $10,000 prize on Sunday. Sean McCafferty, MD, Tucson, Arizona, took second place and a $5,000 prize for the correcting ap- planation at the tonometer surface prism. The third pitch came from Prakhyat Roop, MD, New Delhi, India, who presented on the idea of a ring implant that prevents negative dysphotopsia. There were also several honorable mentions for pitches that did not make it to the final round. Before getting into the finalists' pitches, Edward Hol- land, MD, Cincinnati, and Vance Thompson, MD, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, provided back- ground on bringing the new ses- sion to the Annual Meeting. Dr. Thompson said the Win- ning Pitch Challenge is meant to help ophthalmologists who have good ideas but might not know what to do with that good idea. It is meant to provide ophthal- mologists support and resources to transform novel ideas into prototypes and early stage studies, helping them with educational resources, networking opportuni- ties, setting up mentorships, and providing exposure to financial resources. Applicants to the Winning Pitch Challenge submitted a provisional patent application, Winning Pitch Challenge awards prize to idea for nonsurgical keratoconus treatment MAY 7, 2019 | EYEWORLD DAILY NEWS | 29 Dr. Ambati pitches a pharmacologic, nonsurgical option for keratoconus treatment.

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