Testing of drug underway for patients with wet macular degeneration

A new drug that is currently being tested on mice and rabbits requires fewer injections than the current standard intravitreal therapy for age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Researchers are hopeful that injections in humans would have a longer-lasting effect: several months between injections instead of every four to six weeks. The new drug lasted two months when injected into rabbits and appeared to not have any side effects. Results in animals are not always reproduced in humans. The new drug, AXT107, differs from the current injection therapies by forming a gel with the eye and then slowing releasing over several months. An effective AMD therapy that requires fewer injections would be beneficial as it is often times difficult for elderly patients to make frequent trips to the doctor to receive injections. Fewer visits would ease the burden on patients.*