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TGA approves new drug for diabetes induced vision loss

06 August 2019 | News

Intravitreal corticosteroid implant now approved to treat vision impairment associated with diabetic macular oedema

image credit- istock.com

image credit- istock.com

Australian patients with diabetes-induced eye disease can now access a new treatment option that provides consistent and continuous treatment with long-lasting effect.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has now approved the drug ILUVIEN® (fluocinolone acetonide intravitreal implant), which delivers fluocinolone acetonide via a sustained release implant and provides therapeutic effect for up to 36 months.

It is available to people who have vision impairment associated with chronic diabetic macular oedema (DME), and who have been previously treated with a course of corticosteroids and who have not experienced a clinically significant rise in intra-ocular pressure (IOP).

ILUVIEN will be supplied throughout Australia by independent biopharmaceutical company Specialised Therapeutics (ST), under exclusive license from US-based Alimera Sciences, Inc.

DME is a primary cause of vision loss associated with diabetic retinopathy. The disease affects the macula, which is the part of the retina responsible for central vision. Diabetic retinopathy causes swelling in the macula due to blood vessel leakage, which leads to DME. Onset of the condition is painless and may go undetected until it manifests as blurred central vision, or vision loss.

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