muPharma’s investigational non-invasive ocular drug delivery device

Melbourne-based muPharma has developed an ultrasound-based, non-invasive device to deliver drugs which would ordinarily require injection or other highly invasive delivery methods. 

The device’s ocular applications include delivery of biologics (including personalised nucleic-acid-based drugs and monoclonal antibody drugs) to the retina via the uveal tract, particularly for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic macular oedema (DMO) and inherited diseases; delivery of riboflavin to the cornea; and drug delivery to anterior and posterior segments.  

Overcoming the need for eye injections could alleviate patient fear, a predominant cause of non-compliance, said Mark Unger, muPharma managing director and an adjunct senior research fellow with the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences. “Our device also removes the significant risks associated with injections into the eye, including raising intraocular pressure, as only the drug, and not the solution in which it is dissolved, is delivered. This is not only advantageous for wet AMD but also opens new dry AMD treatment options,” he told Insight. Patients may also require lower anti-VEGF doses, he added.  

Unger explained the device consists of a reusable handpiece and single use, disposable drug- or vaccine-containing tips. The tips contain a non-reactive, solid substrate with microscopic scale features designed to deliver a precise volume of solution without damaging tissue. The device is also available as a single use, all-in-one system. The company said its technology is different from SeaGull Technologies’ product, which uses a polymeric gel formulation to hold a drug. 

MuPharma’s technology has also been shown to have applications in immunology, delivering vaccines to the inside of the mouth.