A new drug delivery system that uses a tiny silicone cup filled with any drug and sealed to the outer surface (episclera) of the eyeball may offer a more effective method for the sustained delivery of medicines for retinal and vitreous diseases, according to a new report by A Linn Murphree, director of the Retinoblastoma Program in The Vision Center at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
Working much like an organ-specific transdermal skin patch, the tiny cup isolates the medication targeted to the eye from being absorbed into the blood stream. The new delivery system is said to be safe and non-invasive way to deliver effective doses of medications to the interior of the eye over long periods of time (weeks to months).
Murphree, said: The implantation of this kind of device on any organ and the ability to deliver medication to the affected organ, could be a huge advance in how we currently treat cancer.