Long-term treatment of glaucoma, a major leading cause of blindness, is challenging due to poor patient compliance. Therefore, a drug delivery device that can achieve drug release over several months can be highly beneficial for glaucoma management. Here, we evaluate the long-term pharmacokinetics and therapeutic efficacy of polycaprolactone intracameral drug delivery devices in rabbit eyes. Our study showed that a single drug delivery device loaded with a proprietary hypotensive agent, DE-117, reduced intraocular pressure in normotensive rabbits significantly for 23 weeks. In addition, we demonstrated that concentration of DE-117 and its hydrolyzed active form (hDE-117) was maintained in the aqueous humor and the target tissue (iris-ciliary body) up to 24 weeks. Our proof-of-concept glaucoma implant shows potential as a long-term treatment that circumvents patient compliance barriers compared to current treatment via eye drops.

由于患者依从性差，青光眼（导致失明的主要原因）的长期治疗具有挑战性。因此，能够在几个月内实现药物释放的药物输送装置对于青光眼的治疗非常有益。在这里，我们评估了聚己内酯房内给药装置在兔眼中的长期药代动力学和治疗效果。我们的研究表明，装载专有降血压剂 DE-117 的单一药物输送装置可显着降低血压正常兔子的眼内压，持续 23 周。此外，我们还证明 DE-117 及其水解活性形式 (hDE-117) 的浓度在房水和目标组织（虹膜-睫状体）中维持长达 24 周。我们的概念验证青光眼植入物显示出作为长期治疗的潜力，与目前通过滴眼剂进行的治疗相比，它可以规避患者依从性障碍。