National Collaborative Trials
Major pharmaceutical companies recognize Retina Care Specialists as a clinical study center for
national, randomized, FDA-sponsored drug trials. Involvement in clinical trials gives our patients access to university-level care for serious eye diseases and new treatments that are not currently widely available.
Drs. Mark Michels, Adrian Laviña and Paul Gallogly are currently involved in clinical trials regarding age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness in America. In October of 2006, The New England Journal of Medicine published an article about an AMD trial for a drug called Lucentis, which was co-authored by Dr. Michels. Inclusion in this prestigious publication is one of the ultimate signs of respect in the field of medicine.
The doctors are also involved in clinical trials for diabetic retinopathy and central vein occlusion - the second and third leading causes of blindness in young to middle-aged adults. One of the trials involves the use of a micro-biodegradable implant injected into the eye. This implant is the first of its kind to be used in the eye.
Major pharmaceutical companies, such as Genentech www.gene.com, and Allergan www.allergan.com, choose Retina Care Specialists because of our board certified and fellowship-trained ophthalmologists, highly trained staff, state-of-the-art equipment, and our quality of work and data management.
Involvement in the most recent research for eye diseases and surgery allows Drs. Michels, Laviña and Gallogly the ability to offer you the very best in eye care to preserve your sight. We are able to offer a superior level of care and emerging new treatments that you may not otherwise have access to. Even more, we do this in an easily understood and compassionate fashion where each individual patient's best interests are always what guide us.
We are currently recruiting patients for the clinical trials conducted in our office. Our current trials are studying the effectiveness of new drugs for wet and dry macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and central vein occlusion. If you have been diagnosed with one of these conditions, you may be a candidate for one of our studies.
