ENTOD Pharma launches #FreeGlaucomaTherapyforLife Campaign

ENTOD Pharmaceuticals announced its commitment to offer financial support to 250 under-privileged glaucoma patients to ensure they have lifetime access to critical glaucoma medicines. The campaign #FreeGlaucomaTherapyforLife aims to prevent such patients from discontinuing treatment because of financial challenges while also raise awareness about glaucoma which is one of the leading causes of blindness in India.

ENTOD Pharmaceuticals unveiled its #FreeGlaucomaTherapyforLife campaign during the World Glaucoma Week which is celebrated every year to educate people about glaucoma, its potential complications and prevention.

The campaign will be conducted with the support of World Glaucoma Association as well as a number of national and regional glaucoma societies.

It is estimated that In India at least 12 million people are affected by glaucoma with around 1.2 million people already blind from the disease. Early diagnosis and regular use of medicines is critical in halting the progression of glaucoma disease and preventing vision loss in patients.

“Glaucoma induced vision loss is irreversible. Timely diagnosis and regular treatment is the only way to contain and delay vision loss among patients of glaucoma. People diagnosed with glaucoma need to undergo regular eye examinations to check the progression of the disease and are prescribed different medicines, mostly eye drops, to bring down the pressure in your eyes. Regular use of medication is critical in preventing vision loss and must therefore not be discontinued. Unfortunately, many patients are forced to discontinue medication because of financial constraints. Our campaign #FreeGlaucomaTherapyforLife is aimed at helping such people have continuous access to glaucoma medicines,” said Nikkhil Masurkar, Executive Director, ENTOD Pharmaceuticals.

ENTOD Pharmaceuticals’ campaign also aims to raise awareness about the disease, its potential consequences and the need for regular eye examinations.

“In India, we do not have the culture of regular eye examinations. This results in a large burden of undiagnosed glaucoma. Raising awareness among people through educational campaigns and eye examinations camps is important in reducing the burden of preventable blindness. Our awareness campaign will use different platforms to underline the importance of regular eye examinations after the age of 40 years of age, awareness about risk factors and strict compliance to prescribed glaucoma eye drops,” added Masurkar.