Seville, Spain — The 16th Annual Congress on Controversies in Ophthalmology (COPHy 2025) provided a unique forum for eye surgeons to present apposing approaches to the most pressing issues facing vision researchers and physicians.
In their session, “Can Liquid Biopsy Proteomics Revolutionize Clinical Trial Design and Drug Development,” Vinit Mahajan M.D., Ph.D., Stanford professor and vice chair of ophthalmology research, and David Almeida M.D., Ph.D., MBA, CEO and director of Erie Retina Research, explored the groundbreaking role molecular research can have in clinical trials. They presented ClinOmicsAI, an advanced molecular testing platform that correlates liquid biopsy 
proteomics with patient clinical data. They debated how to best deploy this powerful tool in clinical trials while considering efficiency and cost.
Mahajan explained, “The ClinOmicsAI platform can identify some 6000 proteins in a few drops of eye fluid that can be traced to various cells in the eye. In eye disease, these protein biomarkers can lead to precise diagnoses, reveal drug-target engagement, and identify new therapeutic targets.”
Using ClinOmicsAI as a verification tool in clinical trials can eliminate the guess work associated with image-based endpoints, saving patients, companies, and physicians time and money.
Dr. Almeida emphasized, “There’s a lot you can do with proteomic biomarkers, but to successfully deploy the ClinOmicsAI technology in human clinical trials, we have to ensure congruency between proteomic testing and key goals for specific clinical trials. Focusing the technology on patient stratification, molecular distinction between responders and non-responders, along with a validated biomarker that supports drug efficacy are the high impact areas.”
Mahajan said, “The debates fostered discussions important in moving ophthalmology forward. When physicians, surgeons, and researchers share their ideas and practices, it can have important ripple effects that ultimately lead to better patient care and outcomes.”
COPHy co-chairs Anat Loewenstein M.D., head of the Tel Aviv Medical Center Department of Ophthalmology, and Baruch Kupperman M.D., Ph.D., director of the Gavin Herbert Eye Institute at UC Irvine, believe that presenting the negative and affirmative positions of ophthalmology hot topics, such as the superiority of AI decisions in glaucoma and the continued use of steroid therapy despite a new generation of Anti-VEGF agents, will significantly influence clinical care in a positive, informed manner. They commented that the Almeida-Mahajan debate brought cutting edge science to the meeting agenda.
COPHy debate sessions covered innovations and controversies in medical and surgical retina, uveitis, neuro-ophthalmology, and glaucoma. Moderators facilitated debates that incorporated in depth discussion opportunities. Topics ranged from age-related macular degeneration, blood flow and perfusion pressure in glaucoma, to choroidal melanoma.
