The treatment of retinal disease faces a serious
challenge as current ocular drug therapy strategies are based on
frequent intravitreal injections, which are undesirable and
unsustainable due to the pain, time, and financial burden placed on
patients and physicians. Implantable polymeric depots and devices
are limited to delivering steroids and other small molecules, and
such polymer products have no mechanism for real-time control of
dosing, leading to significant side effects such as glaucoma or
cataracts. Protein or complex macromolecule therapeutics provide
the most effective and promising treatment for retinal diseases,
but these drugs have limited stability in the body and are
therefore difficult to deliver over extended durations. Addressing
these ophthalmic drug delivery challenges is exactly why On Demand
Therapeutics, Inc. (ODTx™) was created.
The ODTx device is a biocompatible, injectable implant made up
of multiple, sealed reservoirs to store and protect protein and
macromolecular drugs until a laser is used to initiate the
on-demand release of the drug to the back of the eye. This
breakthrough technology is implanted into the periphery of the
vitreous and enables multiple, physician-controlled administrations
of drug for an extended duration of a year, or more, through a
simple, non-invasive, office-based laser procedure.