Pharmacokinetics of retinal drug delivery

The Sight threatening changes of many ophthalmic diseases are present in the retina. Thus, retina is an important drug target, but it is not an easy tissue for drug delivery. Depending on the route of drug delivery (intravitreal, periocular, systemic) the retinal drug exposure is hampered by various physical barriers (vitreous, inner limiting membrane, retinal pigment epithelium and retinal capillaries) and blood flow factors. In this presentation, delivery aspects are discussed quantitatively utilizing modeling tools and addressing required dosing in different situations. Intravitreal, periocular and systemic routes of drug delivery will be discussed. Furthermore, scaling factors for drug doses between mouse, rabbit and humans are presented.