Taiwan Scientists Develop New Glaucoma Drug as More Patients Get Eye Condition
Scientists at Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute have developed a new dual-target medicine they say is more effective and safe in treating glaucoma. The drug is still undergoing clinical trials but could be game-changing for the 430,000 glaucoma patients in Taiwan, and more around the world.
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00:00After years of trial and error, a breakthrough for treating glaucoma.
00:05Scientists at Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute, or EITRI,
00:09have developed a new dual-target medicine for the condition,
00:13which causes loss of vision and blindness.
00:16They say it manages high eye pressure more effectively and safely
00:20by targeting two enzymes,
00:22helping reduce clogs and drain eye fluid at the same time.
00:27Even though there are some treatments for glaucoma,
00:30there is no cure for the so-called high eye pressure.
00:35For a long time, there has been no new medicine for glaucoma.
00:39Division Director Felice Chang says her team was determined
00:43to find a solution for glaucoma
00:45since it's the leading cause of blindness in developed countries.
00:49A progressive disease, glaucoma occurs when the optic nerve is damaged.
00:53The odds for this increase with abnormal eye pressure and with age.
00:58In Taiwan, there are about 430,000 glaucoma patients,
01:03but the diagnostic rate among people over the age of 70 is about 50%.
01:08That means half of seniors with the condition don't know they have it.
01:13Now it's also being found in younger patients.
01:16Taipei-based eye doctor Ke Yu-jie says
01:19another major risk factor is nearsightedness or myopia,
01:23a common condition in East Asia.
01:26We have a lot of myopic eyes in our population.
01:30For eye doctors, our worry is because we are facing an aging population
01:36and because of digitalization, so more and more patients are myopic.
01:41So it's definitely the prevalence of glaucoma will increase.
01:46Our daily clinic, some patients with 20 or 30s,
01:50they come to our clinic to make sure whether they have glaucoma or not.
01:55Current glaucoma treatments cannot reverse damage to vision,
01:59but can stop it from getting worse.
02:01Still, a big problem, Ke says, is getting patients to follow instructions
02:06and use eye drops regularly at the same time each day.
02:10If we have a better drug level, greater potency, greater tolerability,
02:16there will be a definite way to persuade.
02:20At the same time, Ke says eye doctors are switching their strategy,
02:24bringing in laser and surgical options earlier
02:27to give patients a better chance at getting glaucoma under control.
02:32As for getting better medication options,
02:34Cheng and her team's eye drops are still undergoing clinical trial,
02:38but they've already snagged the Global Edison Award for Innovation
02:42and caught the attention of patients.
02:44At the exhibition, I wanted to take our eye drops as a souvenir,
02:48but I couldn't.
02:49It also shows us that the needs of this clinical trial
02:53are very urgent for ordinary people.
02:58Eye specialists are hopeful this new option will help thousands when it hits the market.
03:03Aside from meds, eye doctors still urge people to get regular check-ups
03:08and also to look up from their phone and computer screens once in a while
03:12as the easiest form of eye care.
03:15Lufei Li, Joseph Wu, and Joyce Sun for Taiwan Plus.