2000
On April 12, 2000, photodynamic therapy (PDT) with verteporfin (Visudyne®) is approved by the FDA for the treatment of neovascular AMD. Developed in the 1990s by Joan W. Miller, MD and Evangelos S. Gragoudas, MD, Visudyne® is the first pharmacologic treatment for retinal disease.
From the EyeSmart program of the American Academy of Ophthalmology
Select Citations:
- Photodynamic therapy of subfoveal choroidal neovascularization in age-related macular degeneration with verteporfin: one-year results of 2 randomized clinical trials--TAP report. Treatment of age-related macular degeneration with photodynamic therapy (TAP) Study Group. Arch Ophthalmol. 1999 Oct;117(10):1329-45.
2000
Lucentis®, a fragment of the anti-VEGF antibody bevacizumab, enters clinical testing for AMD.
2003
Joan W. Miller, MD, is named Chair of the HMS Department of Ophthalmology and Chief of Ophthalmology at Mass. Eye and Ear. She is the first woman to hold this dual role.
See also: Date