Bascom Palmer Clinical Trials

by Jaclyn L. Kovach, M.D.
Associate Professor  of Clinical Ophthalmology

In an effort to bring the latest in scientific and technological advances to our Naples patients, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute at Naples has established a clinical trials center that conducts industry sponsored and National Eye Institute-sponsored trials. A clinical trial is a research program conducted with patients to evaluate a new medical treatment or device.

The purpose of clinical trials is to find new and improved methods of treating, preventing, screening for, and diagnosing different diseases. During a clinical trial, doctors use the best available treatment as a standard to by Jaclyn L. Kovach, M.D. Associate Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology evaluate new treatments. The new treatments are hoped to be more effective than current treatments. Jaclyn Kovach, MD has pioneered the acquisition of industry-sponsored trials to our Naples facility as principal investigator for several age-related macular degeneration (AMD) trials. Currently we are recruiting patients for an observational study that will teach us more about how the dry AMD progresses. We will soon begin patient recruitment for a clinical trial that will investigate the efficacy of a new, longer lasting treatment for wet AMD and a third study which will investigate a new eye drop for the treatment of wet AMD.

Since 2008, Dr. Stephen Schwartz and Dr. Jaclyn Kovach have been enrolling hundreds of interested patients with age-related macular degeneration in the Genomic Architecture of Progression and Treatment Response in AMD trial, sponsored by the National Eye Institute in collaboration with the Hussman Institute of Human Genomics at the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine. The goal of this trial has been to identify the many genetic (hereditary) risk factors for AMD and learn about the role they play in the progression of AMD and in response to treatment.

We invite individuals with age-related macular degeneration who are interested in learning more about participating in our trials to contact our study coordinator, Paula Dear, at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute at Naples 239.659.3962.