Pfizer Supports New Electronic Risk Calculator for Glaucoma Introduced at World Ophthalmology Congress; Tool Helps Eye Doctors Assess Risk of Glaucoma in Patients with Ocular Hypertension.

SAO PAULO, Brazil -- Pfizer (NYSE:PFE):

- Some Patients May Benefit from Earlier Treatment -

A new tool to help physicians assess the risk of glaucoma in patients with ocular hypertension was presented today at the World Ophthalmology Congress by US researchers Dr Robert Weinreb and Dr Felipe Medeiros. Their research was funded by an independent grant from Pfizer Inc.

The easy-to-use electronic risk calculator represents the latest advancement in an ongoing effort to create and introduce predictive tools in ophthalmic medicine. The calculator incorporates findings from the Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study (OHTS) conducted in the United States by National Eye Institute. The researchers validated the calculator model in a subset of patients taking part in the Diagnostic Innovations in Glaucoma Study (DIGS), at the Hamilton Glaucoma Center in San Diego, USA.

"The risk calculator helps to identify patients with ocular hypertension who are at high-risk of developing glaucoma and who may benefit from treatment," said Dr Weinreb, Director of the Hamilton Glaucoma Center and Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of California, San Diego, USA. "It will allow doctors to assess patient risk levels and, if needed, recommend treatment options that can help avert possible progression to glaucoma."

Patients with ocular hypertension may have multiple risk factors for progression to glaucoma. A collective assessment of these risk factors helps clinicians identify those patients with elevated eye pressure who are more likely to progress to glaucoma and may benefit from early treatment. Similar predictive models have been developed for other therapeutic areas, including the Framingham Study initiated in the 1950s, which provided the basis for cardiac risk assessment.

The glaucoma model is based on data collected from OHTS, which identified key patient risk factors predictive of disease progression from ocular hypertension to glaucoma. Dr Weinreb and Dr Medeiros have taken these key findings and created an easy-to-use electronic risk calculator. Physicians assess six risk factors and insert their findings at various points on the calculator. When taken in combination, these factors help determine the risk of conversion from ocular hypertension to glaucoma within the next five years.

OHTS identified the following factors as being associated with an increased risk of developing glaucoma:

--Older age

--Elevated intraocular pressure (IOP)

--Thinner central corneal thickness

--Increased vertical cup/disc ratio

--Greater pattern standard deviation 

Under the risk calculator guidelines, patients with a progression risk of less than five percent should monitor their condition with their doctor. Consideration and discussion of benefits and risks of treatment with a physician are recommended for individuals determined to have a five percent to 15 percent risk of progressing to glaucoma, while treatment is recommended for those with higher levels of risk.

"The risk calculator should be used as an adjunct to, and not as a substitute for, clinical experience and judgment, and each physician is likely to have his or her own threshold for treatment," said Dr Medeiros, Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of California, San Diego, USA "Other factors such as the patient's overall health status, life expectancy, and commitment to treatment should also be weighed against potential adverse events and cost of treatment."

About Glaucoma

Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases, which can gradually cause sight loss without warning and often without symptoms. In most cases, these diseases produce increased pressure within the eye caused by a build-up of fluid that, over time, damages the optic nerve. It is this nerve that transmits the images we see to the brain. Early detection, diagnosis and treatment can help preserve vision.

Glaucoma is the second leading cause of preventable vision loss in the world. Estimates put the total number of suspected cases of glaucoma at approximately 70 million worldwide. At least seven million glaucoma patients are blind in both eyes and this number is increasing.

Notes to Editors:

The risk calculator was validated in an independent population - as part of the National Eye Institute sponsored Diagnostic Innovations in Glaucoma Study (DIGS) - an ongoing prospective study that included 252 eyes of 126 untreated ocular hypertension patients. There was an average follow-up period of 86 months. According to the OHTS, the cumulative probability of developing glaucoma after five years is 9.5 percent in eyes with untreated ocular hypertension.

The risk calculator research was supported by an independent research grant from Pfizer, Inc.

Production of the risk calculator tool was provided as an educational service from Pfizer, Inc.

About Pfizer

About Pfizer Ophthalmics

Pfizer Ophthalmics, a division of Pfizer Inc., is committed to preserving sight and eliminating preventable blindness. Pfizer Ophthalmics discovers, develops and provides leading treatments in ophthalmology to support patients who are at risk of blindness or suffering from vision impairment, and to serve the health care professionals who treat them. Its current product line includes the most prescribed treatment to lower elevated eye pressure in patients with ocular hypertension (abnormally high eye pressure) or open-angle glaucoma. In collaboration with OSI Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the division also includes a treatment for neovascular age-related macular degeneration.