ChatGPT for Clinicians—free for verified physicians and other healthcare professionals

OpenAI has launched ChatGPT for Clinicians, a tool that, according to the announcement, is “designed to support clinical tasks like documentation and medical research so clinicians can focus on delivering high-quality patient care.” This tool is available free of charge for verified physicians, NPs, PAs, and pharmacists in the U.S. Given current clinician usage of AI tools, the company noted the “responsibility to continuously improve our model’s performance and safety on clinical use cases and offer solutions that can safely and effectively support healthcare workflows.” OpenAI launched ChatGPT for Healthcare earlier this year, and the company stated that it considers ChatGPT for Clinicians the next step. Alongside ChatGPT for Clinicians, OpenAI is also introducing HealthBench Professional, which it described as “an open benchmark for real clinician chat tasks across three use cases: care consult, writing and documentation, and medical research, building on HealthBench’s⁠ broader evaluation of health conversations.”

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First patient enrolled in extension trial for wet AMD treatment

Ocular Therapeutix announced that it enrolled the first participant in its long-term extension trial for AXPAXLI (OTX-TKI). The trial will include patients who completed 2-year follow-up in prior trials. The extension trial is intended to evaluate the safety and efficacy of AXPAXLI long term (an additional 3 years). The outcomes of this study, according to the company’s press release, “may further expand AXPAXLI’s potential by highlighting the need to start AXPAXLI treatment early or risk worse long-term visual outcomes due to potential fibrosis and atrophy that may be seen with pulsatile treatments.” The patients in this study will be given the “investigational, bioresorbable, intravitreal hydrogel incorporating axitinib, a small molecule, multi-target, tyrosine kinase inhibitor with anti-angiogenic properties,” every 24 weeks, with assessments at week 4 and 12, then every 12 weeks thereafter. Supplemental anti-VEGF injections may be used at investigators’ discretion.

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Rolling NDA submission for Stargardt disease type 1 therapy

Belite Bio began a rolling NDA submission to the FDA for tinlarebant, an investigational oral therapy for Stargardt disease type 1 (STGD1). The company expects the rolling submission to be complete by the second quarter of 2026. Tinlarebant is “intended to reduce the accumulation of vitamin A-based toxins (known as bisretinoids) that cause retinal disease in STGD1.” Bisretinoids are also responsible for disease progression in GA, according to the company’s press release. Tinlarebant reduces and maintains levels of serum retinol binding protein 4, the carrier protein for retinol transport from the liver to the eye. Modulating retinol in the eye can reduce the formation of bisretinoids, according to the company. Tinlarebant has a Breakthrough Therapy Designation, a Fast Track Designation, and a Rare Pediatric Disease Designation from the FDA.

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Company news

• OptymEdge and Streetlab entered into a strategic collaboration to expand the use of virtual reality for real-life functional vision and mobility testing in clinical trials.

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ASCRS news and events

• ASCRS Live!: This educational dinner series is heading to several cities across the U.S. in 2026. Registration is open for the next event in Omaha, Nebraska, on June 11.
• ASCRS Online Education: The ASCRS CME Education Catalog offers a wealth of both CME and non-CME content for ASCRS members. Check out what your colleagues have been watching lately.
• ASCRS Annual Meeting: Hotel rooms are now available for the 2027 ASCRS Annual Meeting. Book your 2027 hotel in San Diego early to get your preferred room and location.

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Research highlights

• Phase 3 results from the sham procedure/placebo-controlled, double-masked, randomized clinical trial that evaluated oxygen-enriched epithelium-on crosslinking (Epioxa, Glaukos) for keratoconus were published in the journal Ophthalmology and Therapy. The trial enrolled patients 13–51 years old with diagnosed keratoconus. They were randomized 2:1 to receive crosslinking or the sham/placebo (200 eyes were in the crosslinking group). The crosslinking procedure involved use of riboflavin 5′-phosphate ophthalmic solutions 0.239% and 0.177% and exposure to UV-A irradiation and supplemental oxygen. At 12 months postop, the least squares mean change from baseline in maximum corneal curvature (K_max) improved by 0.5 D in the crosslinking group and deteriorated by 0.4 D in the sham group. The authors reported that the study’s primary efficacy endpoint was met with “both statistically significant and clinically significant meaningful change in the mean K_max.” No severe treatment-related adverse events in the study eye or serious ocular adverse events were reported. The most common adverse event was punctate keratitis, which occurred at rates of 6.5% and 1.8% in the crosslinking and placebo eyes, respectively. The authors concluded that this epithelium-on procedure for treatment of keratoconus was safe and effective for both pediatric patients and adults. The treatment received FDA approval in October 2025.
• The effect of pupil dilation on ocular biometry and IOL power calculations was investigated in a prospective cohort study of 84 patients. According to the investigators, “pupillary dilation induced significant biometric changes,” including increased anterior chamber depth, decreased lens thickness, and changes in axial length, central corneal thickness, and white-to-white. They noted a “small but statistically significant myopic shift in mean [prediction errors …] with postdilation compared with predilation, with the mean shifts for 5 of the 6 formulas” (all except Hoffer QST; the 5 other formulas were the Barrett Universal II, Emmetropia Verifying Optical [EVO] 2.0, Kane, LISA, and Pearl-DGS). The authors reported that mean and median absolute prediction errors were unchanged based on pupillary dilation. Regression analysis showed that “changes in [axial length], keratometry, and [anterior chamber depth] were significant predictors of the myopic shift across all formulas.” They concluded that while pupillary dilation can induce a mild myopic shift in IOL power calculations, it “does not seem to significantly affect the overall predictive accuracy of modern IOL formulas.” To confirm these findings, the investigators advocated for larger cohort studies. The research is published in the Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.

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