Abeer H. A. Mohamed Ahmed
UCL School of Pharmacy, UK
Title: Ophthalmic formulations for treatment of scarring following glaucoma surgery
Biography
Biography: Abeer H. A. Mohamed Ahmed
Abstract
Glaucoma is the greatest cause of irreversible blindness in the world. This condition can be treated by glaucoma filtration surgery (GFS) which is conducted in the subconjunctiva. GFS is currently a complex surgical procedure that requires considerable post-surgical treatment to stop fibrosis and to promote healing. Fibrosis can be inhibited in 30% of patients using cytotoxic antiscarring agents (e.g. mitomycin-c, 5- fluorouracil), which are the only clinically used medicines to control fibrosis after GFS. There is no licensed treatment to treat ocular fibrosis. Ilomastat is a matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor that has been shown to inhibit fibrosis after GFS in a rabbit model of ocular fibrosis. To reduce scarring and fibrosis following GFS, an effective formulation of ilomastat is required that allows a prolonged local concentration of ilomastat to be maintained within the subconjunctival space. In this study, we describe the development of ophthalmic formulations of ilomastat in form of topical eye drop and self-gelling implants.