Sustained Release of a Novel IOP Lowering Agent for the Treatment of Glaucoma

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Glaucoma is a major cause of blindness, affecting over 70 million people worldwide. The development of glaucoma is most often associated with elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) which is induced by the dysfunction of the trabecular meshwork (TM) leading to inhibition of aqueous humor outflow. In most patients, constant elevated IOP results in the loss of retinal ganglion cells (RGC), and can lead to blindness. Current therapies involve the administration of eye drops containing IOP lowering agents, a notoriously inefficient means for ocular drug delivery, with less than 1% of the therapeutic agent reaching the aqueous humor. Therefore, repeated daily dosing is required for efficient IOP management. Compliance, especiallyamong older patients, is an issue, with estimates of noncompliance up to 95%. Topical administration may also lead to extensive systemic drug absorption which can have serious adverse side effects. To improve the visual outcome of patients with glauco