Glaukos Submits IND Application to FDA to Study iDoseTM Travoprost Intraocular Implant in Glaucoma Patients

Glaukos Corporation

, an ophthalmic medical technology company focused on the development and commercialization of breakthrough products and procedures designed to transform the treatment of glaucoma, today announced that it has submitted an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking authorization to study its Travoprost Intraocular Implant with the iDoseTM delivery system for investigational use in the reduction of elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with glaucoma. Injected through a clear corneal incision and secured in the anterior chamber, the iDose is designed to continuously elute therapeutic levels of medication from within the eye for extended periods of time. The titanium implant is comparable in size to the company's proprietary Micro-Invasive Glaucoma Surgery (MIGS) devices. It is filled with a special formulation of travoprost, a prostaglandin analog used to reduce elevated intraocular pressure. The implant is capped with a membrane that is designed for continuous controlled drug elution into the anterior chamber. When depleted, the implant can be removed and replaced in a similar, subsequent procedure. Glaukos has designed the product to be an alternative to chronic, daily prescription eye drop treatments, which may have high rates of patient non-compliance and cause long-term ocular surface damage to glaucomatous eyes. "This IND submission represents a seminal milestone, which the Glaukos team achieved well ahead of our original 2016 timeline," said Thomas Burns, president and CEO of Glaukos. "We believe this micro-scale implant may be a viable answer to the ubiquitous and long-standing problem of patient non-compliance with prescription eye drops and we look forward to working cooperatively with the FDA as they review our IND submission." In the IND application, Glaukos proposes to conduct a randomized Phase II clinical trial to assess the safety and preliminary efficacy of two models of the iDose delivery system with different travoprost elution rates compared to topical timolol maleate ophthalmic solution, 0.5%. The Phase II study is proposed to be unmasked at 12 weeks. The IND application includes information on travoprost's history of safety and efficacy, as well as Glaukos' preclinical program and early data from an initial international clinical trial on the implant involving 69 patients. In this initial international study, subjects were randomized to receive either one of two models of the implant, each with different elution rates, or topical travoprost. Through 12 months, mean IOP was lower in the implant groups than in the topical medication group. The results from this initial trial demonstrated that both implant models had a potent IOP-lowering effect and that the implants were generally well-tolerated. Glaucoma is characterized by progressive, irreversible and largely asymptomatic vision loss caused by optic nerve damage. There is no cure for the disease and reducing IOP is the only proven treatment. According to Market Scope, more than 80 million people worldwide have glaucoma, including approximately 4.3 million people in the United States. Open-angle glaucoma is the most common form, affecting approximately 3.5 million people in the United States.