NEI funds research on drug-eluting IOL

The National Eye Institute has awarded LayerBio a grant to develop a drug-eluting IOL for cataract surgery.

"A drug-eluting intraocular lens that achieves sustained delivery of medication within the eye has the potential to eliminate the need for eye drops, which may prevent complications and reduce prescription drug costs following surgery," said Aleksandr White, vice president of LayerBio, an MIT spin-off developing novel drug delivery products for ophthalmology and wound care.

LayerBio's drug-eluting IOL incorporates the company’s proprietary and MIT-invented LayerForm technology, which is based on the principles of electrostatic layer-by-layer thin film assembly. The LayerForm coating process involves sequential applications of materials of alternating charge which accumulate to a form a thin film. When exposed to an aqueous environment, these films degrade hydrolytically. Typical release times with LayerForm range from days to months.