The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a new contact lens produced by Johnson that can deliver the antihistamine ketotifen directly to the eye. The lenses are a step towards administrating medication directly into the organ.
An optometrist from the University of California Davis Eye Centre, Melissa Barnett, said:
Drug-delivery contact lenses have come a long way since they were first proposed in the 1980s. It is expected that drug-delivery contact lenses will be used to treat a wide range of eye illnesses.
Since the 1970s, scientists have been working on putting medications into contact lenses to treat eye problems, including cataracts and glaucoma. Many people neglect to use eye drops prescribed by their doctor.
Also Read: These Robot Insects Can Be Used In Emergencies
In addition, eye drops are not the greatest method of administering medication to the eyes since 95% of the active material is lost owing to tear drainage or falls down the face.
Diabetic retinopathy may be treated with injections that may cause bleeding or infection.
Scientists believe the use of a drug-induced contact lens is more pleasant and effective than using drops. As a result, it is still a problem to include medications in a particular contact lens, as the material and architecture may differ based on the kind of drug.
Johnson & Johnson Vision’s Brian Pall, director of clinical science, stated:
Compatibility is required between the medicine and the contact lens. Certain medications are poorly retained by certain contact lenses and are rapidly released.
A lens that is overly compatible with medicine will prevent the drug from dissolving after it is placed in the eye.
Scientists have used a wide range of materials and techniques, including nanoparticles and molecular imprinting, to try to solve the problem of controlling how long and how much medicine is released.
Johnson has developed a new kind of disposable contact lens that may be used for the whole day and then thrown away. Pall continued, saying
You receive a fast release of medicine into your eye when you place the lens on your eye, and a gradual release over the following hours as the drug slowly escapes.
The rapid absorption of the drug by the body is made possible by the quick-release formulation.
Canada and Japan have previously had the lens, but the business is working on making it widely accessible in the United States.
