Ocular Drug Delivery: Targeting the Posterior Segment

One inch or less. That is the short distance an ocular drug must travel to reach a target site at the back of the eye. Research has come a long way over the past 4 decades in efforts to make this inch-long journey more successful. Delivering ocular drugs to their target tissues often requires them to traverse the fat-water-fat structure of the corneal barrier while ensuring minimum wastage through tear washout and systemic absorption. This is why delivering drugs effectively to the posterior of the eye is a challenge that many companies have aimed to overcome. This installment of the Innovations in Retina column describes recent developments in methods of ophthalmic drug delivery to the posterior segment of the eye.