# Drug Delivery Technologies for the Treatment of Age‐Related Macular Degeneration

## TL;DR

This paper reviews current and emerging drug delivery technologies for treating age-related macular degeneration, focusing on improving patient compliance and accessibility.

## Contribution

The paper provides a critical evaluation of recent advancements in drug delivery systems for AMD and emphasizes the need for patient-centric innovation.

## Key findings

- Current AMD treatments rely on intravitreal injections of Anti-VEGF drugs, which face challenges in patient compliance and accessibility.
- Recent research highlights novel drug delivery technologies aimed at overcoming anatomical barriers and improving treatment outcomes.
- Biosimilars are gaining traction, suggesting a shift in therapeutic approaches for AMD.

## Abstract

Age‐related macular degeneration (AMD) is a progressive and degenerative disease affecting the posterior segment of the eye. It currently affects millions of people worldwide, and the gold standard of treatment has remained unchanged for over 20 years. It consists of intravitreal injections of anti‐vascular endothelial growth factor (Anti‐VEGF), which pose significant challenges to patient compliance primarily due to accessibility issues, fear of injections in the eye, and high cost. In this review, a thorough description of the pathogenesis of AMD and the anatomical barriers is presented that must be considered for the design of newer drug delivery systems for the treatment of AMD. Likewise, a critical evaluation of the most recent research efforts in the literature regarding the treatment of AMD using novel drug delivery technologies is provided. Lastly, currently approved therapeutic agents are reviewed for AMD and provide an insight into the recent surge of biosimilars with an outlook on how future therapeutic approaches to AMD should be developed.

There are multiple therapeutic agents available for the treatment of both dry age‐related macular degeneration (AMD) and wet AMD. It is essential to continue innovation by introducing new drug delivery technologies that can incorporate those along with patient compliance and the accessibility of the technology into the early stages of research and development.