Genentech and the American Diabetes Association have a vision of a world with more equitable access to eye health care for all people with diabetes.
To make it happen, they’ve scoped out the launch of a new program that’ll bring vision screenings and care to under-resourced communities, beginning with those in the Washington, D.C., area. As the duo noted in Wednesday’s launch announcement, the program will focus primarily on boosting eye health equity among Black and Hispanic communities, who are at a significantly higher risk than non-Hispanic white populations to lose their vision due to diabetes-related eye disease—which is already the leading cause of vision loss among all people between the ages of 18 and 64.
The program will provide comprehensive eye exams, as well as information about the importance of regular check-ups, which allow doctors to detect, prevent and treat diabetes-related eye diseases and vision loss before they progress to severe levels, but which are not always widely accessible. The partners will work alongside community organizations to target the specific barriers to care facing people with diabetes in the D.C. metro area.
“We know that inequities in health outcomes and access to care are deep-rooted and must be addressed at the local level. We also recognize that it will take thoughtful collaboration and community engagement to one day eliminate these disparities,” Genentech CEO Ashley Magargee said in the announcement. “We look forward to our continued work with the ADA, and with local organizations advocating for community members, to tackle systemic barriers and improve eye care for all patients.”
The program is part of the ADA’s existing Health Equity Now initiative, which is aimed at providing broadly affordable and accessible healthcare resources to people of color with diabetes. Genentech serves as the anchor partner of the initiative.
Their Health Equity Now team-up began with a pilot program that the organization and Genentech unveiled last year: Based in Birmingham, Alabama, where around one-third of the state’s population is living with diabetes or prediabetes, the pilot was ultimately able to connect more than 4,100 people to vision screenings and treatment through dozens of community outreach activations and educational and screening events. The newly launched program in Washington, D.C., will follow a similar strategy.
Later in 2023, the duo kicked off yet another eye health equity initiative. The campaign encourages everyone with diabetes and their loved ones to take the “eye pledge” to get an annual eye exam. As ADA CEO Charles Henderson said in a statement at the time, “Regular eye screenings and treatment can prevent 95% of vision loss caused by diabetes, and I encourage everyone to take the eye pledge, get an eye exam, and spread the word.”
Genentech is the maker of the eye disease drugs Lucentis and Vabysmo, both of which are cleared to treat diabetes-related eye disorders, among other labels. Meanwhile, the FDA recently accepted an application to expand the company’s surgical implant system Susvimo into diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular edema.
Editor's note: This story was updated to clarify Genentech's current offerings in diabetes-related eye diseases.