pSivida Corp. Completes Targeted Enrollment of Phase III Trial of Medidur™ for Posterior Uveitis
"This is a major advance in the treatment of uveitis, in my opinion,
with the delivery of medication into the vitreous cavity without the
need for travel to an operating room and with effective provision of
corticosteroid for a sustained three years," said Dr.
Medidur is an injectable micro-insert delivering the steroid flucinolone acetonide (FA) on a sustained basis for 36 months. Medidur uses the same micro-insert (same design, same polymers, same drug, same dose) as ILUVIEN® for diabetic macular edema (DME) developed by pSivida, which has been approved in the U.S. and in 15 EU countries to date. Medidur is inserted via a redesigned applicator that utilizes a needle of the same gauge as that typically used for intra-ocular injections.
Posterior uveitis is a chronic, non-infectious inflammatory disease affecting the posterior segment of the eye, often involving the retina. It afflicts people of all ages, producing swelling and destroying eye tissues, which can lead to severe vision loss and blindness. In the U.S., posterior uveitis affects approximately 175,000 people, resulting in approximately 30,000 cases of blindness making it the third leading cause of blindness in the U.S.
Patients with posterior uveitis are typically treated with systemic steroids but over time frequently develop serious side effects that can limit effective dosing. Patients then progress to steroid-sparing therapy with systemic immune suppressants or biologics, which themselves can have severe side effects including an increased risk of cancer.
"Based on results of a Phase II study and prior experience with this
implant, we believe that Medidur will provide improved outcomes compared
to standard of care but with a significant reduction in side effects.
Medidur should also lower treatment costs and offer the reduced
invasiveness of an injection every three years compared with the
frequent administration of existing therapies," said Dr.
The Medidur Phase III trial is a double-blind study comparing injections
of Medidur to sham injections on a two-to-one basis. Patients are
enrolled in 16 centers in the U.S. and 17 centers in the EU and
About
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