Sustained-release glaucoma therapies offer customizable treatment plans
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NEW YORK — Sustained-release drug delivery for glaucoma treatment offers a way to reduce IOP without relying on surgery or drops and gives physicians a way to customize treatment plans for individual patients, according to a speaker here.
“It really gives us the ability to further customize our treatment plans for our patients,” Sarah H. Van Tassel, MD, said during a discussion about first-line treatment in newly diagnosed patients with glaucoma at OSN New York. “What we can offer our patients in 2021 is a customized treatment plan.”
Sustained-release glaucoma therapies fit in with other options when physicians are working to customize treatment plans for patients. Patients for whom surgery or laser treatments are not appropriate, including those with prohibiting comorbidities or who have previously had selective laser trabeculoplasty or surgery but are also unable to effectively use drops, may benefit from sustained-release therapies.
Durysta, a bimatoprost sustained-release intracameral implant from Allergan, approved by the FDA in March 2020, is indicated to lower IOP in eyes with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension.
Other sustained-release systems in the development pipeline include “punctal plugs, ring-type systems, contact lenses, implants, microspheres, nanospheres and gels,” Van Tassel said. Efficacy, safety, duration and cost will contribute to the failures or successes of these options.
“I think sustained release is the future, and not just this bimatoprost product,” Van Tassel said. “It’s really important to listen to your patient so that we can customize a treatment plan that works best for them.”
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Van Tassel SH. The case for depot drug delivery. Presented at: OSN New York and OSN New York Retina; Oct. 15-17, 2021; New York.
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