Changing Ocular Delivery Paradigms

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With the aging population and increasing lifestyle factors, diseases of the eye have become significant burdens to the health of Canadians. With an estimated cost of more than $15 B annually, vision impairment affects more Canadians than breast cancer, prostate cancer, Alzheimers and Parkinson's disease combined. Furthermore, vision impaired patients have increased incidences of depression, are admitted to nursing homes earlier, fall more often and die at a significantly younger age than the sighted population. With advances in the development of new therapeutics, there is however a need overcome limitations to traditional methods of delivery. Materials-based solutions have a great potential to overcome many of these limitations. While biomaterials have a long history of use in the eye, mainly as contact lenses and intraocular lenses, there are opportunities to improve materials used in ophthalmic applications, both to increase patient comfort and convenience and improve the efficacy of the treatment. The research program described is aimed at the development of novel materials-based ocular treatments, including new drug delivery devices targeting front and back of the eye and new contact lens materials. Front of the eye delivery systems are designed to take advantage of the natural anatomical features of the tear film in order to prolong the residence time of the drug on the eye while capitalizing on the acceptability of eyedrops. While injections are routinely used to treat diseases of the back of the eye, the frequency of the treatments is inconvenient for both the physician and the patient and each breach of the eye carries with it a significant risk of complication. In situ gelling systems will allow the injections to be performed much less frequently, minimizing these risks. Finally, new contact lens surfaces with improved wettability and lower friction will minimize discomfort and decrease the risk of complications. Ultimately, novel ocular materials will allow for better visual outcomes and richer lives for the growing visually compromised population.