Devices Expand Their Role in Retinal Disease

Article preview from Medtech Insight - Januray 1, 2011

Four years following FDA approval, Lucentis remains the standard of care for the treatment of neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and has been widely adopted for off-label treatment of other retinal diseases. Companies are pursuing new drugs that may have more favorable dosing profiles, device-based technologies that may reduce the dosing frequency of Lucentis, and implantable drug delivery vehicles designed to deliver drugs to the back of the eye that may be applicable to a broad range of retinal therapies.

Devices Expand Their Role in Retinal Disease

Article preview from Medtech Insight - Januray 1, 2011

Four years following Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the anti-VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) drug ranibizumab ( Lucentis) from Genentech Inc./Roche, this new drug class remains the standard of care for the treatment of neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and has been widely adopted for off-label treatment of other retinal diseases. Lucentis has raised the bar significantly with respect to visual outcomes that the retinal specialist can offer to patients, but the burden of regular intraocular injections and the high cost of the drug have prompted physicians, biopharmaceutical companies, and medical device companies to pursue alternatives.

While many physicians have opted for off-label use of bevacizumab ( Avastin) as a less expensive alternative to Lucentis, companies are pursuing new drugs that may have more favorable dosing profiles, device-based technologies that may reduce the dosing frequency of Lucentis, and implantable drug delivery vehicles designed to deliver drugs to the back of the eye that may be applicable to a broad range of retinal therapies. At the same time, there is continued progress in the development of drug delivery devices that target the ocular surface and anterior segment of the eye to address the noncompliance and inconsistent dosing that are associated with eye drops.

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