OPHTHALMIC SUSPENSIONS

Lightly crosslinked polymers, preferably ones prepared by suspension or emulsion polymerizing at least about 90% by weight of a carboxyl-containing monoethylenically unsaturated monomer such as acrylic acid with from about 0.1% to about 5% by weight of a polyfunctional, and preferably difunctional, crosslinking agent such as divinyl glycol (3,4-dihydroxy-1,5-hexadiene), having a particle size of not more than about 50 mu m in equivalent spherical diameter, when formulated with an ophthalmic medicament, e.g., fluorometholone, into suspensions in aqueous medium in which the amount of polymer ranges from about 0.1% to about 6.5% by weight, based on the total weight of the aqueous suspension, the pH is from about 3.0 to about 6.5, and the osmotic pressure (osmolality or tonicity) is from about 10 mOsM to about 400 mOsM, provide new topical ophthalmic medicament delivery systems having suitably low viscosities which permit them to be easily administered to the eye in drop form, and hence be comfortably administrable in consistent, accurate dosages. These suspension will rapidly gel in the eye after coming into contact with the eye's tear fluid to a substantially greater viscosity than that of the originally-introduced suspension and thus remain in place for prolonged periods of time to provide sustained release of the ophthalmic medicament.