Another step toward drug delivery through contact lenses

Wednesday, January 8 2014 | 00 h 00 min | News

Scientists have been talking for a long time about contact lenses able to deliver ocular drugs. Now they are getting a little closer to their goal.

Researchers at Harvard University’s Massachusetts Eye and Ear have successfully developed a contact lens that allows latanoprost, a drug commonly used to treat glaucoma, to be administered over a period of weeks, and even months. The lenses have a clear opening in the centre and a film made of a combination of latanoprost and polymer on the periphery. The film helps control the steady delivery of the drug. The lenses can be manufactured with or without refractive power. 

“In general, eye drops are an inefficient method of drug delivery that has notoriously poor patient adherence,” said lead researcher Dr. Joseph Ciolino. “This contact lens design can potentially be used as a treatment for glaucoma and as a platform for other ocular drug delivery applications. A non-invasive method of sustained ocular drug delivery could help patients adhere to the therapy necessary to maintain vision in diseases like glaucoma, saving millions from preventable blindness.”

Source:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131209084137.htm