Report: Entod Pharmaceuticals presented ‘unethical and misrepresentation of facts’ about PresVu eye drops – Health News

Days after ENTOD Pharmaceuticals announced that it had received final approval from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for its PresVu eye drops, experts and health officials are claiming that the company is misrepresenting facts.

According to a report by news agency ANI, a senior official source said that ENTOD Pharmaceuticals’ claims that its product PresVU eye drops is approved by the DCGI and offers spectacular treatment for presbyopia are unethical and a misrepresentation of the facts.

“This is an unethical and misrepresentation of the facts,” the official source said. The drug regulator has asked the company for an explanation for the misrepresentation. “An explanation has been demanded from the company,” senior official sources said.

Earlier, the company had claimed, “PresVu is the first eye drop in India specifically formulated to reduce the dependence on reading glasses in people suffering from presbyopia, a common age-related vision disorder that typically occurs in people above 40. Presvu has also filed a patent for this invention in terms of its formulation and process. The proprietary formula not only eliminates the need for reading glasses but also helps the patient in moisturising their eyes as a side benefit.”

“PresVu is the result of years of dedicated research and development. This DCGI approval is an important step forward in our mission to transform eye care in India. PresVu is more than just a product; it is a solution that has the potential to improve the lives of millions of people by providing them with greater visual independence. We are proud of our commitment to innovation and to providing healthcare solutions that are both accessible and affordable,” said Nikkhil K Masurkar, CEO, ENTOD Pharmaceuticals.

However, medical experts call it an “imperfect and temporary solution.” “Pilocarpine eye drops have been used to treat glaucoma for at least 75 years. They constrict your pupil and cause a pinprick effect that makes it difficult for you to read. It is an imperfect and temporary solution to reading problems. Glasses are the perfect solution,” said Dr. Charu Kashyap, senior consultant, department of ophthalmology, Max Hospital Saket, New Delhi.

Meanwhile, Dr. Samir Sud, co-founder and director of Sharp Sight Eye Hospitals, said medical science has advanced over the years.

“From time to time, many studies come to the market. Some are very effective and safe, others are very unsafe and impractical. These drops, PresVu, are designed to improve your near vision, or what we call presbyopia, which is the ability to read up close without glasses. These drops are nothing more than pylocarpine in a different concentration,” he said.

“Pilocarpine works by constricting the pupil and creating a pinhole effect. When the pupil has a pinhole effect, we can see into the distance and close up without glasses. So that’s how it works. But as I said, pilocarpine has some serious complications, so after this study, we don’t know how it behaves in the eye when given in large amounts, whether it will be safe or unsafe,” added Dr. Samir Sud.

Dr Tushar Grover, Associate Consultant in the Department of Ophthalmology at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, said, “The recently introduced presbyopia correction drops are essentially pilocarpine eye drops in relatively low concentration. The molecule itself is not new, it has been around for decades and has been used to treat glaucoma.”

(With inputs from ANI)