Page Navigation
Disease BurdenTreatment BurdenRetina ExperiencePipelineTechnology
DISEASE BURDEN
Approximately 400 million people around the world suffer from some form of retinal disease.1
Retinal diseases constitute a group of conditions that affect the retina – a thin layer of tissue that lines the back of the eye.
The retina contains millions of light-sensitive rods, cones, and other nerve cells that are responsible for receiving and organizing visual information.2 Many of these diseases and conditions can lead to vision loss or serious visual impairment, limiting sharpness of vision and leading to significant impact on an individual’s quality of life.3-6
Age-related macular degeneration and diabetic eye diseases are the most common diseases of the retina accounting for 42.4% of all cases of retinal disease in the US.7They are the leading causes of vision loss or blindness and are becoming more important because of aging populations and the increasing incidence of diabetes.5,6,8,9
TREATMENT BURDEN
There is a physical and psychological treatment burden for patients and substantial time burden on caregivers.24-26
Although anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy (VEGF) therapy can minimize vision loss in wet AMD and DR patients, real-world data suggest frequent intravitreal injections create a high treatment burden for patients, caregivers and providers.5,27,28AMD patients report monthly intravitreal injections are moderately stressful to go through and that they are fearful of the side effects of intravitreal injections.24,29Anti-VEGF agents are also associated with a substantial financial burden for patients and the healthcare system, due to their high cost and the need for frequently repeated treatments plus clinic visits.30
These factors may lead to reduced compliance to anti-VEGF therapy. In one real world study of approximately 9000 wet AMD patients, approximately 20% of patients were lost to follow-up within 12 months after initiating anti-VEGF injections.31
Additionally, 20-40% of wet AMD patients and 15-20% of DR patients do not adequately respond to anti-VEGF therapy or experience a slow loss of efficacy after repeated administration and may require alternate management strategies.32,33
OTHER THERAPUETIC AREAS
Learn about other areas of expertise
RETINA EXPERTISE
Meet our team of retina experts
Our team of the world’s foremost retina experts is
pioneering to redefine the experience of retinal disease
See Management Team
PIPELINE
Our retina pipeline
Our retinal-disease focused pipeline is aimed at redefining patient outcomes
in the hope of preserving vision for the long-term, with less burden.
AXPAXLI™
(also known as OTX-TKI)
AXPAXLI is an investigational bioresorbable, hydrogel incorporating axitinib, a small molecule, multi-target tyrosine kinase inhibitor with anti-angiogenic properties, being evaluated for the treatment of wet AMD, diabetic retinopathy, and other retinal diseases.34,35
LEARN MORE ABOUT AXPAXLI
Explore our pipeline
AXITINIB
Multi-target Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor 34
+
ELUTYX™ TECHNOLOGY
Bioresorbable, Sustained Drug Delivery
TECHNOLOGY
ELUTYX™
ELUTYX technology is a clinically proven, bioresorbable, programmable hydrogel matrix that encapsulates drug to provide sustained and localized delivery.34, 36-38
Explore Our Technology
Helpful Resources
REFERENCES: 1.Market Scope. 2022 Retinal Pharmaceuticals Market Report: Global Analysis for 2021 to 2027. Published August 2022. 2. Masland RH. Neuron. 2012;76(2):266-280. 3. Prem Senthil M, et al. J Patient Rep Outcomes. 2017;1(1):15. 4. Di Carlo E, et al. J Clin Med. 2021;10(15):3297. 5. Wong TY, et al. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2016;2:16012. 6. Wong WL, et al. Lancet Glob Health. 2014;2(2):e106-e116. 7. Rosenblatt TR, et al. Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina. 2021;52(1):29-36. 8. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Learn About Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Updated November 23, 2020. Accessed December 7, 2022. http://bit.ly/41sECrc. 9. Wang W, et al. Int J Mol Sci. 2018;19(6):1816. 10. Vyawahare H, et al. Cureus. 2022;14(9):e29583. 11. Rein DB, et al. Arch Ophthalmol. 2009;127(4):533-540. 12. Gehrs KM, et al. Ann Med. 2006;38(7):450-471. 13. Flaxel CJ, et al. Ophthalmology. 2020;127(1):P1-P65. 14. Fleckenstein M, et al. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2021;7(1):31. 15. Maguire MG, et al. Ophthalmology. 2016;123(8):1751-1761. 16. Gupta P, et al. Sci Rep. 2022;12(1):8465. 17. Taylor DJ, et al. BMJ Open. 2016;6(12):e011504. 18. Zheng Y, et al. Indian J Ophthalmol. 2012;60(5):428-431. 19. Arup Das. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2016;57(15):6669-6682. 20. The American Society of Retina Specialists. Americans in the dark on diabetic retinopathysymptoms, risks, survey finds. Accessed January 3, 2025. https://www.asrs.org/sections/member-news/5097/Americans-in-the-Dark-on-Diabetic-Retinopathy-Symptoms-Risks-Survey-Finds. 21. Duh EJ, et al. JCI Insight. 2017;2(14):e93751. 22. Morello CM. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2007;64(17 Suppl 12):S3-S7. 23. Coyne KS, et al. Fam Pract. 2004;21(4):447-453. 24. Gualino V, et al. J Fr Ophtalmol. 2020;43:1047-1053. 25. Thier A, et al. Disabil Rehabil. 2022;44(5):661-671. 26. Prenner JL, et al. Am J Ophthalmol. 2015;160(4):725-31.e1. 27. Okada M, et al. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2021;139(7):769-776 [erratum in: 2022;140(6):653] 28. Gale RP, et al. Acta Ophthalmol. 2023;101(1):e26-e42. 29. Senra H, et al. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 2016;254(10):1873-1880. 30. ElSheikh RH, et al. Biomolecules. 2022;12:1629. 31. Obeid A, et al. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2018;136:1251-1259. 32. Wallsh JO, et al. Cells. 2021;10:1049. 33. Ricci F, et al. Int J Mol Sci. 2020;21:8242. 34. Boyer DS, et al. Evaluating Safety, Tolerability and Biological Activity of OTX-TKI, a Hydrogel-Based, Sustained-Release Intravitreal Axitinib Implant, in Subjects with Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Presented at the AAO Annual Meeting; November 13-15, 2020; Virtual. 35. Study to Evaluate the Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy of OTX-TKI in Subjects With Moderately Severe to Severe Non-proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy. ClinicalTrials.gov. Updated December 8, 2023. Accessed January 3, 2025. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05695417. 36. Sawhney AS, et al., Inventors, Incept, LLC, Assignee. Drug delivery through hydrogel plugs. US Patent 8,409,606 B2. April 2, 2013. 37. Blizzard C, et al. Clin Ophthalmol. 2021:15 2055–2061. 38. Goldstein MH, et al. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2020;61(7):4266.
