After a horrific car crash, multiple surgeries, and an extensive recovery period, Gabe Hurley was given another chance at life. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons recently presented Gabe Hurley with the Patients of Courage Award, and recognized Dr. Patel of The Plastic Surgery Center for his surgical talents. The award came with a monetary grant which Gabe donated to Robert Wood John Hospital Level 1 Trauma Center's Safety Ambassador Program.
Shrewsbury, NJ, February 22, 2016 (Newswire.com)
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Gabe is an accomplished guitarist and a motivational speaker who strives to encourage others through his music and presentations. That’s despite Gabe’s sudden blindness, months in a brain trauma unit and having undergone 12 surgeries to have his face reconstructed from a horrific car crash; a crash that wasn't Gabe’s fault.
Gabe was driving to a pharmacy one night six years ago when an oncoming car driven by a teenager, slammed into the bridge. The force of the crash hurled the car’s 20 pound radiator through the windshield of Gabe’s car, resulting in catastrophic injuries.
When Gabe awoke from a coma, he was blind and unable to speak; his jaw had been wired shut. He communicated by writing, but could not see what he wrote. Gabe endured multiple procedures, one requiring nearly 20 hours to perform, where plastic and reconstructive surgeon Dr. Tushar Patel of The Plastic Surgery Center reconstructed Gabe’s face, which at the time of the accident was almost unrecognizable, using bone from his rib and skull. Through the following 8 procedures, surgeons were able to repair bones in his left hand, eventually allowing Gabe to relearn the guitar and continue playing in his band. Dr. Patel was there through Gabe’s long recovery.
Gabe had plenty of time to consider his new way of life. He was a young adult in his mid-20’s, who prior to the accident, worked, went to the gym regularly, and ran several miles every day. Now, he was thinking about getting a guide dog, but that was a practical matter. What about his emotions, attitude, outlook, and approach to the rest of his life? Coming so close to death somehow reaffirmed Gabe’s determination to live a full and meaningful life.
Gabe recovered from his injuries and decided to put his challenges to use in a positive way. Gabe now speaks before large groups of students where he describes all the challenges he’s had to overcome. Gabe shows the groups of students his graphic images; from the accident scene, to CAT scans of his injuries, to photos of him lying helpless in a hospital bed. The talks have also become a perfect opportunity to convey a message on the need for driver safety and awareness, and the responsibility that comes with getting behind the wheel of a car. Gabe closes his presentations playing some selections of classic rock songs on his guitar.
The Optejet® ophthalmic drug device is designed to precisely administer medication to the eye, potentially treating patients' conditions through gentler, more efficient dosing.
Two recent studies show that the novel Optejet® dispenser from Eyenovia, Inc., an ophthalmic pharmaceutical technology company, may be a more "human-centric" design than traditional eye droppers, which may make treatments for vision problems, including myopia, presbyopia and mydriasis, easier to deliver.
The investigational Optejet® dispenser administers ophthalmic solutions horizontally using the company's proprietary Microdose Array Print (MAP™) technology. The system has been shown to deliver accurate microdoses through a precision spray, dispensing medication with the push of a button, with no need to tilt the head back, and requires minimal hand-eye coordination.
Traditional eye drops can deliver four to five times larger volumes of medication than the human eye can hold, which can cause overdosing and drug waste. The Optejet® dispenser is designed to administer 1/5 the volume of solution compared to a traditional eyedropper, making doses less likely to spill or run onto the patient's face.
"Traditional eye drops typically overdose a patient's eye with medication and preservatives, which can lead to significant dose-related side effects," said Michael Rowe, CEO of Eyenovia. "Optejet® is proving to be easier to use and therefore may deliver the appropriate dose of medication to potentially decrease side effects."
One paper (Rathi, Scott, 2020) presented at the 2020 American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery reviewed multiple studies comparing the Optejet® dispenser with traditional eye droppers. In one study with the Optejet®, the researcher successfully administered 96% of doses on the first attempt, and 95% of patients successfully self-administered the doses on the first attempt as well. Another study found ophthalmic technicians successfully delivered doses on 83% of first attempts and were successful 99% of the time within two attempts.
A separate study conducted by Eyenovia (2021) monitored the six-month daily eye drop treatment compliance of 28 children ages 6 to 13 with pediatric progressive myopia. It found that nearly 90% of children using the Optejet® once-daily treatment successfully complied with their treatment regimen. This compares favorably to the 50% compliance rate for pediatric ophthalmic medications or the 59-69% range for adult topical ophthalmic drug users (Naito, 2018; see also Patel, 1995; Winfield, 1990; Matsui, 1997).
The unique delivery mechanism of the Optejet® has the potential to fundamentally change how people think about administering eye medication. Of 100 presbyopic patients between the ages of 40-55, four out of five said they would prefer using the investigational Optejet® device over traditional eye drops, according to a survey conducted by Eyenovia.
Optejet® has not been approved, cleared, or licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use, and it is not commercially available in the United States. For more information about the Optejet® device, visit eyenovia.com.
About Eyenovia, Inc.
Eyenovia, Inc. is an ophthalmic pharmaceutical technology company developing a pipeline of microdose array print (MAPTM) therapeutics. Eyenovia is currently focused on the late-stage development of microdosed medications for mydriasis, presbyopia and myopia progression. For more information, visit www.eyenovia.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Except for historical information, all of the statements, expectations and assumptions contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements that express our intentions, beliefs, expectations, strategies, predictions or any other statements relating to our future activities or other future events or conditions, including estimated market opportunities for our product candidates and platform technology. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about our business based, in part, on assumptions made by management. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may, and in some cases are likely to, differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in the forward-looking statements due to numerous factors discussed from time to time in documents which we file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, such statements could be affected by risks and uncertainties related to, among other things: risks of our clinical trials, including, but not limited to, the costs, design, initiation and enrollment (which could still be adversely impacted by COVID-19), timing, progress and results of such trials; the timing of, and our ability to submit applications for, obtaining and maintaining regulatory approvals for our product candidates; the potential impacts of COVID-19 on our supply chain; the potential advantages of our product candidates and platform technology; the rate and degree of market acceptance and clinical utility of our product candidates; our estimates regarding the potential market opportunity for our product candidates; reliance on third parties to develop and commercialize our product candidates; the ability of us and our partners to timely develop, implement and maintain manufacturing, commercialization and marketing capabilities and strategies for our product candidates; intellectual property risks; changes in legal, regulatory and legislative environments in the markets in which we operate and the impact of these changes on our ability to obtain regulatory approval for our products; and our competitive position. Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and except as may be required under applicable securities laws. Eyenovia does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
