\n<\/p>\n
\n \n \n Add topic to email alerts \n <\/span> \n <\/p>\n\n\n \n Receive an email when new articles are posted on \n <\/p>\n\n Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on .<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n “ \n data-action=”subscribe”> \n Subscribe \n <\/button>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n We were unable to process your request. Please try again later. If you continue to have this issue please contact customerservice@slackinc.com.<\/strong> <\/p>\nBack to Healio<\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\nKey takeaways:<\/h2>\n\nThe biggest clinical disruptors in the ophthalmic market include developments in gene therapy and drug delivery.<\/li>\nThe next wave of innovation will be fueled by agentic AI.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nDENVER \u2014 In 2026, the biggest drivers of market trends in ophthalmology include rare diseases as well as gene therapies and AI, according to a speaker at Eyecelerator@ARVO.<\/p>\nWhen looking at the current disease landscape, treatment areas such as glaucoma, uveitis and dry eye disease have a high number of both marketed assets and clinical assets, making them \u201cmature indications with lots of patients, but also lots of competition,\u201d Long Sha, PhD,<\/b> of Boston Consulting Group, said during a presentation. The highest levels of mergers and acquisitions remain concentrated in the retinal disease market, including diabetic retinopathy, wet age-related macular degeneration and geographic atrophy. <\/p>\n \n \n \n \n <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture> \n Image: Anthony DeFino | Healio<\/em> \n <\/figcaption> \n <\/figure>\n\u201cHere we have a relatively fewer number of approved assets, but very vibrant clinical activities,\u201d Sha said.<\/p>\nHowever, venture capital funds are perhaps most interested in the rare disease spaces, including keratoconus, Leber\u2019s hereditary optic neuropathy, retinitis pigmentosa, retinoschisis and Leber congenital amaurosis, according to Sha.<\/p>\n\u201cThere is an untapped opportunity, and there can be a lot of value with the science,\u201d he said.<\/p>\nWithin the last 18 months, one of the most transformative disruptors in the ophthalmic market has been the gene therapy space, largely due to the appeal of a one-time injection when compared with the multiple injections required of anti-VEGF treatments.<\/p>\n\u201cGene therapy is now expanding beyond rare diseases into chronic disease management such as wet AMD, GA and DR,\u201d Sha said. \u201cThis is signified by several high-profile acquisitions and partnerships, such as the one between AbbVie and Regenxbio, and the acquisition of Adverum by Lilly.\u201d<\/p>\nAdditionally, the drug delivery space is the second largest trend in the ophthalmic space, with longer acting therapies reducing the burden of treatment for both ophthalmologists and patients.<\/p>\n\u201cIt will be very interesting in the next 1 to 3 years to see, in some of these disease areas, how these longer acting therapeutics and the gene therapy dynamics play out,\u201d Sha said.<\/p>\nLooking forward, the next wave of AI innovation that will drive the market, according to Sha, is agentic AI.<\/p>\n\u201cAll of our clients are looking at scaling AI very, very seriously across the clinical and commercial pipeline,\u201d he said. <\/p>\nSha highlighted agentic AI\u2019s ability to offers real-time customer input that will fuel research and development initiatives, as well as provide commercial support through providing automated sales agents and augmenting field force training. Additionally, agentic AI will provide practices with more tools for offering the real-time patient support \u201cthat doctor’s offices just don’t have the capacity to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\u201cWe are very excited to partner with our clients and also help transform how AI can deliver value across the value chain,\u201d Sha said.<\/p>\n
\n Receive an email when new articles are posted on \n <\/p>\n\n Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on .<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n “ \n data-action=”subscribe”> \n Subscribe \n <\/button>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n We were unable to process your request. Please try again later. If you continue to have this issue please contact customerservice@slackinc.com.<\/strong> <\/p>\nBack to Healio<\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\nKey takeaways:<\/h2>\n\nThe biggest clinical disruptors in the ophthalmic market include developments in gene therapy and drug delivery.<\/li>\nThe next wave of innovation will be fueled by agentic AI.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nDENVER \u2014 In 2026, the biggest drivers of market trends in ophthalmology include rare diseases as well as gene therapies and AI, according to a speaker at Eyecelerator@ARVO.<\/p>\nWhen looking at the current disease landscape, treatment areas such as glaucoma, uveitis and dry eye disease have a high number of both marketed assets and clinical assets, making them \u201cmature indications with lots of patients, but also lots of competition,\u201d Long Sha, PhD,<\/b> of Boston Consulting Group, said during a presentation. The highest levels of mergers and acquisitions remain concentrated in the retinal disease market, including diabetic retinopathy, wet age-related macular degeneration and geographic atrophy. <\/p>\n \n \n \n \n <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture> \n Image: Anthony DeFino | Healio<\/em> \n <\/figcaption> \n <\/figure>\n\u201cHere we have a relatively fewer number of approved assets, but very vibrant clinical activities,\u201d Sha said.<\/p>\nHowever, venture capital funds are perhaps most interested in the rare disease spaces, including keratoconus, Leber\u2019s hereditary optic neuropathy, retinitis pigmentosa, retinoschisis and Leber congenital amaurosis, according to Sha.<\/p>\n\u201cThere is an untapped opportunity, and there can be a lot of value with the science,\u201d he said.<\/p>\nWithin the last 18 months, one of the most transformative disruptors in the ophthalmic market has been the gene therapy space, largely due to the appeal of a one-time injection when compared with the multiple injections required of anti-VEGF treatments.<\/p>\n\u201cGene therapy is now expanding beyond rare diseases into chronic disease management such as wet AMD, GA and DR,\u201d Sha said. \u201cThis is signified by several high-profile acquisitions and partnerships, such as the one between AbbVie and Regenxbio, and the acquisition of Adverum by Lilly.\u201d<\/p>\nAdditionally, the drug delivery space is the second largest trend in the ophthalmic space, with longer acting therapies reducing the burden of treatment for both ophthalmologists and patients.<\/p>\n\u201cIt will be very interesting in the next 1 to 3 years to see, in some of these disease areas, how these longer acting therapeutics and the gene therapy dynamics play out,\u201d Sha said.<\/p>\nLooking forward, the next wave of AI innovation that will drive the market, according to Sha, is agentic AI.<\/p>\n\u201cAll of our clients are looking at scaling AI very, very seriously across the clinical and commercial pipeline,\u201d he said. <\/p>\nSha highlighted agentic AI\u2019s ability to offers real-time customer input that will fuel research and development initiatives, as well as provide commercial support through providing automated sales agents and augmenting field force training. Additionally, agentic AI will provide practices with more tools for offering the real-time patient support \u201cthat doctor’s offices just don’t have the capacity to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\u201cWe are very excited to partner with our clients and also help transform how AI can deliver value across the value chain,\u201d Sha said.<\/p>\n
“ \n data-action=”subscribe”> \n Subscribe \n <\/button>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n We were unable to process your request. Please try again later. If you continue to have this issue please contact customerservice@slackinc.com.<\/strong> <\/p>\nBack to Healio<\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\nKey takeaways:<\/h2>\n\nThe biggest clinical disruptors in the ophthalmic market include developments in gene therapy and drug delivery.<\/li>\nThe next wave of innovation will be fueled by agentic AI.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nDENVER \u2014 In 2026, the biggest drivers of market trends in ophthalmology include rare diseases as well as gene therapies and AI, according to a speaker at Eyecelerator@ARVO.<\/p>\nWhen looking at the current disease landscape, treatment areas such as glaucoma, uveitis and dry eye disease have a high number of both marketed assets and clinical assets, making them \u201cmature indications with lots of patients, but also lots of competition,\u201d Long Sha, PhD,<\/b> of Boston Consulting Group, said during a presentation. The highest levels of mergers and acquisitions remain concentrated in the retinal disease market, including diabetic retinopathy, wet age-related macular degeneration and geographic atrophy. <\/p>\n \n \n \n \n <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture> \n Image: Anthony DeFino | Healio<\/em> \n <\/figcaption> \n <\/figure>\n\u201cHere we have a relatively fewer number of approved assets, but very vibrant clinical activities,\u201d Sha said.<\/p>\nHowever, venture capital funds are perhaps most interested in the rare disease spaces, including keratoconus, Leber\u2019s hereditary optic neuropathy, retinitis pigmentosa, retinoschisis and Leber congenital amaurosis, according to Sha.<\/p>\n\u201cThere is an untapped opportunity, and there can be a lot of value with the science,\u201d he said.<\/p>\nWithin the last 18 months, one of the most transformative disruptors in the ophthalmic market has been the gene therapy space, largely due to the appeal of a one-time injection when compared with the multiple injections required of anti-VEGF treatments.<\/p>\n\u201cGene therapy is now expanding beyond rare diseases into chronic disease management such as wet AMD, GA and DR,\u201d Sha said. \u201cThis is signified by several high-profile acquisitions and partnerships, such as the one between AbbVie and Regenxbio, and the acquisition of Adverum by Lilly.\u201d<\/p>\nAdditionally, the drug delivery space is the second largest trend in the ophthalmic space, with longer acting therapies reducing the burden of treatment for both ophthalmologists and patients.<\/p>\n\u201cIt will be very interesting in the next 1 to 3 years to see, in some of these disease areas, how these longer acting therapeutics and the gene therapy dynamics play out,\u201d Sha said.<\/p>\nLooking forward, the next wave of AI innovation that will drive the market, according to Sha, is agentic AI.<\/p>\n\u201cAll of our clients are looking at scaling AI very, very seriously across the clinical and commercial pipeline,\u201d he said. <\/p>\nSha highlighted agentic AI\u2019s ability to offers real-time customer input that will fuel research and development initiatives, as well as provide commercial support through providing automated sales agents and augmenting field force training. Additionally, agentic AI will provide practices with more tools for offering the real-time patient support \u201cthat doctor’s offices just don’t have the capacity to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\u201cWe are very excited to partner with our clients and also help transform how AI can deliver value across the value chain,\u201d Sha said.<\/p>\n
Back to Healio<\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\nKey takeaways:<\/h2>\n\nThe biggest clinical disruptors in the ophthalmic market include developments in gene therapy and drug delivery.<\/li>\nThe next wave of innovation will be fueled by agentic AI.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nDENVER \u2014 In 2026, the biggest drivers of market trends in ophthalmology include rare diseases as well as gene therapies and AI, according to a speaker at Eyecelerator@ARVO.<\/p>\nWhen looking at the current disease landscape, treatment areas such as glaucoma, uveitis and dry eye disease have a high number of both marketed assets and clinical assets, making them \u201cmature indications with lots of patients, but also lots of competition,\u201d Long Sha, PhD,<\/b> of Boston Consulting Group, said during a presentation. The highest levels of mergers and acquisitions remain concentrated in the retinal disease market, including diabetic retinopathy, wet age-related macular degeneration and geographic atrophy. <\/p>\n \n \n \n \n <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture> \n Image: Anthony DeFino | Healio<\/em> \n <\/figcaption> \n <\/figure>\n\u201cHere we have a relatively fewer number of approved assets, but very vibrant clinical activities,\u201d Sha said.<\/p>\nHowever, venture capital funds are perhaps most interested in the rare disease spaces, including keratoconus, Leber\u2019s hereditary optic neuropathy, retinitis pigmentosa, retinoschisis and Leber congenital amaurosis, according to Sha.<\/p>\n\u201cThere is an untapped opportunity, and there can be a lot of value with the science,\u201d he said.<\/p>\nWithin the last 18 months, one of the most transformative disruptors in the ophthalmic market has been the gene therapy space, largely due to the appeal of a one-time injection when compared with the multiple injections required of anti-VEGF treatments.<\/p>\n\u201cGene therapy is now expanding beyond rare diseases into chronic disease management such as wet AMD, GA and DR,\u201d Sha said. \u201cThis is signified by several high-profile acquisitions and partnerships, such as the one between AbbVie and Regenxbio, and the acquisition of Adverum by Lilly.\u201d<\/p>\nAdditionally, the drug delivery space is the second largest trend in the ophthalmic space, with longer acting therapies reducing the burden of treatment for both ophthalmologists and patients.<\/p>\n\u201cIt will be very interesting in the next 1 to 3 years to see, in some of these disease areas, how these longer acting therapeutics and the gene therapy dynamics play out,\u201d Sha said.<\/p>\nLooking forward, the next wave of AI innovation that will drive the market, according to Sha, is agentic AI.<\/p>\n\u201cAll of our clients are looking at scaling AI very, very seriously across the clinical and commercial pipeline,\u201d he said. <\/p>\nSha highlighted agentic AI\u2019s ability to offers real-time customer input that will fuel research and development initiatives, as well as provide commercial support through providing automated sales agents and augmenting field force training. Additionally, agentic AI will provide practices with more tools for offering the real-time patient support \u201cthat doctor’s offices just don’t have the capacity to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\u201cWe are very excited to partner with our clients and also help transform how AI can deliver value across the value chain,\u201d Sha said.<\/p>\n
DENVER \u2014 In 2026, the biggest drivers of market trends in ophthalmology include rare diseases as well as gene therapies and AI, according to a speaker at Eyecelerator@ARVO.<\/p>\n
When looking at the current disease landscape, treatment areas such as glaucoma, uveitis and dry eye disease have a high number of both marketed assets and clinical assets, making them \u201cmature indications with lots of patients, but also lots of competition,\u201d Long Sha, PhD,<\/b> of Boston Consulting Group, said during a presentation. The highest levels of mergers and acquisitions remain concentrated in the retinal disease market, including diabetic retinopathy, wet age-related macular degeneration and geographic atrophy. <\/p>\n \n \n \n \n <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture> \n Image: Anthony DeFino | Healio<\/em> \n <\/figcaption> \n <\/figure>\n\u201cHere we have a relatively fewer number of approved assets, but very vibrant clinical activities,\u201d Sha said.<\/p>\nHowever, venture capital funds are perhaps most interested in the rare disease spaces, including keratoconus, Leber\u2019s hereditary optic neuropathy, retinitis pigmentosa, retinoschisis and Leber congenital amaurosis, according to Sha.<\/p>\n\u201cThere is an untapped opportunity, and there can be a lot of value with the science,\u201d he said.<\/p>\nWithin the last 18 months, one of the most transformative disruptors in the ophthalmic market has been the gene therapy space, largely due to the appeal of a one-time injection when compared with the multiple injections required of anti-VEGF treatments.<\/p>\n\u201cGene therapy is now expanding beyond rare diseases into chronic disease management such as wet AMD, GA and DR,\u201d Sha said. \u201cThis is signified by several high-profile acquisitions and partnerships, such as the one between AbbVie and Regenxbio, and the acquisition of Adverum by Lilly.\u201d<\/p>\nAdditionally, the drug delivery space is the second largest trend in the ophthalmic space, with longer acting therapies reducing the burden of treatment for both ophthalmologists and patients.<\/p>\n\u201cIt will be very interesting in the next 1 to 3 years to see, in some of these disease areas, how these longer acting therapeutics and the gene therapy dynamics play out,\u201d Sha said.<\/p>\nLooking forward, the next wave of AI innovation that will drive the market, according to Sha, is agentic AI.<\/p>\n\u201cAll of our clients are looking at scaling AI very, very seriously across the clinical and commercial pipeline,\u201d he said. <\/p>\nSha highlighted agentic AI\u2019s ability to offers real-time customer input that will fuel research and development initiatives, as well as provide commercial support through providing automated sales agents and augmenting field force training. Additionally, agentic AI will provide practices with more tools for offering the real-time patient support \u201cthat doctor’s offices just don’t have the capacity to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\u201cWe are very excited to partner with our clients and also help transform how AI can deliver value across the value chain,\u201d Sha said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere we have a relatively fewer number of approved assets, but very vibrant clinical activities,\u201d Sha said.<\/p>\n
However, venture capital funds are perhaps most interested in the rare disease spaces, including keratoconus, Leber\u2019s hereditary optic neuropathy, retinitis pigmentosa, retinoschisis and Leber congenital amaurosis, according to Sha.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is an untapped opportunity, and there can be a lot of value with the science,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Within the last 18 months, one of the most transformative disruptors in the ophthalmic market has been the gene therapy space, largely due to the appeal of a one-time injection when compared with the multiple injections required of anti-VEGF treatments.<\/p>\n
\u201cGene therapy is now expanding beyond rare diseases into chronic disease management such as wet AMD, GA and DR,\u201d Sha said. \u201cThis is signified by several high-profile acquisitions and partnerships, such as the one between AbbVie and Regenxbio, and the acquisition of Adverum by Lilly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Additionally, the drug delivery space is the second largest trend in the ophthalmic space, with longer acting therapies reducing the burden of treatment for both ophthalmologists and patients.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will be very interesting in the next 1 to 3 years to see, in some of these disease areas, how these longer acting therapeutics and the gene therapy dynamics play out,\u201d Sha said.<\/p>\n
Looking forward, the next wave of AI innovation that will drive the market, according to Sha, is agentic AI.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of our clients are looking at scaling AI very, very seriously across the clinical and commercial pipeline,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Sha highlighted agentic AI\u2019s ability to offers real-time customer input that will fuel research and development initiatives, as well as provide commercial support through providing automated sales agents and augmenting field force training. Additionally, agentic AI will provide practices with more tools for offering the real-time patient support \u201cthat doctor’s offices just don’t have the capacity to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are very excited to partner with our clients and also help transform how AI can deliver value across the value chain,\u201d Sha said.<\/p>\n
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