Punctal plugs

Abstract

Punctal plugs for delivering therapeutic agents have a body, a portion into which the therapeutic agent is held, a winding about the body, and an enlarged portion or anchor at an end.

Description

Background technique [0001] The present invention relates to devices suitable for delivering substances to one or more of the eye, nose and throat. In particular, the present invention relates to punctal plugs for the delivery of at least one active agent. [0002] Human tears are secreted by the lacrimal glands and travel across the ocular surface to a shallow pool called the lake of tears, which is located where the inner ends of the eyelids meet. From there, tears flow through small holes in each of the upper and lower eyelids (called the upper and lower puncta, respectively), from where they enter the respective upper and lower canaliculi, respectively, and The canaliculus is the tube-like passage that leads to the lacrimal sac. The lacrimal sac is the upper, enlarged portion of the nasolacrimal duct, which drains tears into the nasal system. The active agent can thus be delivered to the nose and throat via the canaliculus leading to the nasolacrimal duct. [0003] Act...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Active agents for ophthalmic diseases can be administered orally or by injection, but these routes of administration have the disadvantage that, with oral administration, the concentration of the active agent that reaches the eye is too low to obtain the desired pharmacological effect, And their use can be complicated by significant systemic side effects, while injections pose a risk of eyeball infection, discomfort, bleeding or puncture

[0004] Most ophthalmic active agents are typically delivered topically using eye drops which, while effective in some applications, are ineffective

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