SurModics completes enrollment in study testing drug-delivery system for eye disease

By Elaine Rigoli

Tampa, Fla., March 20 - SurModics, Inc. announced Monday the completion of patient enrollment in a phase 1 clinical study assessing the safety and tolerability of the I-vation Intravitreal Implant in diabetic macular edema (DME) patients.

The I-vation Intravitreal Implant is a drug-delivery system that can deliver a variety of drugs on a sustained-release basis for well over a year, can be implanted in a minimally invasive procedure and may be removed once the drug has been fully released, according to a company news release.

"We are particularly pleased with the strong interest expressed by ophthalmology and pharmaceutical companies in identifying ways of delivering drugs in the eye over an extended period of time. We look forward to completing the six-month follow-up and submitting results to the FDA later this year," president and chief executive officer Bruce Barclay said in a statement.

Current treatments for age-related macular degeneration and DME require repeat injections into the eye every one to three months.

Replacing multiple injections with a single implant providing long-term, controlled drug release could represent a significant advance in therapeutic treatment, including improved patient compliance, reduced side effects and greater efficacy, the release said.

SurModics, based in Eden Prairie, Minn., develops surface modification technologies in the areas of biocompatibility, site-specific drug delivery, biological cell encapsulation and medical diagnostics.

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