Unblinded
The Start-Up that Launched a Revolution in Saving Sight
An insightful history of a leading ophthalmological company, David R. Guyer’s Unblinded charts concerted efforts to improve people’s sight.
Eyetech founder David R. Guyer paired with Ian Keldoulis to write Unblinded, the insightful, science-infused account of how his biotechnology company cured a leading cause of blindness.
Three doctors, including Guyer himself, founded Eyetech in 2000 to develop a new ophthalmological treatment for a retinal disease prevalent among senior citizens that renders them unable to recognize friends, use utensils without making a mess, or find a saltshaker. The book chronicles the stealthy progression of the disease, how it affects sight, and how the damage spreads well. Stories about people losing their independence and having to let go of long-term hobbies like reading humanize their concerns. Focusing on the back of the eye instead of its front, the doctors came up with intravitreal therapies for age-related macular degeneration, tackling the disease on an industrial scale.
Narrated at a distance but drawing on Guyer’s knowledge, the book takes an insider’s view of the company’s breakthroughs, recounting how the doctors became frustrated with existing medical technologies. Some background information is included on the founders and their colleagues, as with coverage of how the eventual clinical trial leader was apprehensive about joining the startup. Still, its focus is most on the company’s work: The research that led to the breakthrough is well elucidated, with technical medical issues and the mechanics of the clinical trial described clearly alongside information about the company’s growth, which is covered in terms of financing, the public listing, and diversification, as well as through dramatic scenes set at Palo Alto restaurants, infusing logistical challenges like raising venture capital with life.
An evaluation of the company’s successes concludes this retrospective, including the assertion that Eyetech helped to open up venture capital interest in other ophthalmic start-ups with its success. It is also credited with equipping eye doctors with more therapies and ushering in “the dawn of pharmacotherapy for retinal diseases.” Beyond the company’s valuation in the billions, it asserts that its success is wrapped up in the fact that its leaders always centered their desire to help people see better. It infuses the company’s story with the founders’ sense of purpose, giving it emotional resonance.
A fascinating science book, Unblinded is about a medical startup that devised a life-changing treatment for age-related macular degeneration.
Reviewed by
Joseph S. Pete
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
