Adopting Interventional Glaucoma Via Sustained-Release Therapies: The Wide-Ranging Impact of Procedural Pharmaceuticals in Ophthalmology

Topical medical therapy is the most common approach to the treatment of many ocular conditions. While effective, topical therapy has numerous important limitations. Eye drops can have unpleasant or even dangerous side effects, are often difficult to self-administer, and the application of multiple drops per day, possibly from multiple different bottles, can be burdensome. Perhaps the most important limitation of topical medical therapy is non-adherence, a complex multifactorial behavior that increases the risk of poor outcomes associated with undertreatment. There is growing interest in a class of therapeutics termed “procedural pharmaceuticals” (PPs), which remove the responsibility of self-dosing from patients. An array of PPs are available for the treatment of a variety of ocular conditions, such as those for glaucoma, retina, and cataract surgery; and many more will emerge in coming years. A paradigm shift away from patient-administered therapy toward provider-administered therapy will have important implications for both providers and patients. This paper explores the impact that PPs have had, and will have, on the clinical practice of ophthalmology.