Iluvien

Iluvien (formerly known as Medidur) is a non-biodegradable intravitreal implant designed for the sustained release of fluocinolone acetonide, a potent synthetic corticosteroid, over a period of up to 36 months. Developed by Alimera Sciences using pSivida's Durasert technology, the implant provides a continuous micro-dose of the medication directly into the vitreous cavity to treat chronic retinal diseases. In a Phase 2b pilot study led by Johns Hopkins University, the implant was evaluated as an adjunctive therapy to ranibizumab (Lucentis) for patients with exudative (wet) age-related macular degeneration (AMD) who had reached a treatment plateau. The therapeutic goal was to maintain visual acuity gains while reducing the frequency of anti-VEGF injections. Fluocinolone acetonide functions as a glucocorticoid receptor agonist, which suppresses inflammatory pathways, downregulates the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and stabilizes the blood-retinal barrier.

Brand names

Iluvien

Other names

fluocinolone acetonide intravitreal implantfluocinolone acetonide