York, PA-based delivery company Unilife ($UNIS) has announced two new delivery platforms that will support delivery of depot drugs or drugs in precise and small volumes to the eye, as well as support delivery of genetic therapies.
The first, Unilife Depot-Ject, is designed for implanting solid- or oil-based depot drugs for controlled and long-term drug release. Drugs can be supplied in a ready-to-inject format, and the injector is designed to be simple to use, minimizing the risk to patients.
The second, Unilife Ocu-Ject, allows accurate and precise delivery of microliter doses to the eye, either in a prefilled format or for filling at time of use. The delivery device's design has potential to reduce the risk of over- or under-dosing, and so improves outcomes, reduces pain and improves dosing accuracy.
The market for drugs targeting the eye is increasing as the population ages and the prevalence of diseases such as diabetes and age-related macular degeneration increases. Devices that improve the accuracy, efficiency and ease of administration can help support the movement of drugs that need specialist delivery from the bench into clinical trials and then through to commercialization. Unilife has patented these two technologies, and is in ongoing discussion with a number of pharma companies.
- read the press release