Abstract: The present invention relates to sustained release drug delivery systems, medical devices incorporating said systems, and methods of use and manufacture thereof. The inventive systems feature bioerodible drug delivery devices that include biocompatible solid and biocompatible fluid compositions to achieve desired sustained release drug delivery.

Abstract: The invention relates to codrugs having improved properties, methods for preparing and administering them, and methods of formulating and administering the codrugs as pharmaceutical preparations. In certain embodiments, the codrugs can be locally administered to deliver the constituent biologically active compound in a sustained-release fashion, reducing systemic concentrations of the biologically active compound.

Abstract: The instant invention provides methods (including business methods) and reagents (including packaged pharmaceutical compositions) for use in predicting the long term effect on visual acuity (VA) of a pharmaceutical or treatment regimen in a patient with macular edema.

Abstract: The invention provides statistical methods for identifying measurements that can be used to generate variables that are associated with clinical outcomes of treatment regimens for disease. The invention also provides methods for using such measurements to monitor the effectiveness of an ongoing disease treatment regimen, databases which contain information about measurements and variables and their relationships to clinical outcomes, and pharmaceutical products which incorporate instructions on the use of the methods and databases of the invention. The invention provides a specific application of these methods and products to the treatment of ocular diseases, particularly macular edema, in particular for the treatment of macular edema with implantable devices and compositions that provide sustained release of corticosteroids.

Abstract: The present invention relates to the field of prodrugs of chemotherapeutic agents and method of use thereof.

Abstract: The invention provides a device and method for treating and/or preventing raised intraocular pressure, such as that associated with glaucoma or the use of corticosteroids with adrenergic agents. The invention provides insertable sustained-release devices adapted to maintain a therapeutically effective concentration of one or more adrenergic agents for an extended period of time, and a method of use thereof.

Abstract: A salt of a codrug of at least two drug compounds covalently linked to one another via a labile bond to form a single codrug, and methods of use of the codrug salt for the treatment of various medical conditions. The codrug salt may be administered by itself or in the form of a bioerodible or nonbioerodible substance.

Abstract: The invention provides a device and method for treating and/or preventing raised intraocular pressure, such as that associated with glaucoma or the use of corticosteroids, with carbonic anhydrase inhibitors. The invention provides insertable sustained-release devices adapted to maintain a therapeutically effective concentration of one or more carbonic anhydrase inhibitors for an extended period of time, and a method of use thereof.

Abstract: The invention provides for sustained release formulations for systemic delivery of drugs or other therapeutic agents that are highly soluble in water. Methods of administration of the agents and devices useful for administration are also disclosed. In particular, sustained release formulations are disclosed for the treatment of glaucoma, including methods and devices suitable for the administration of the formulations.

Abstract: An injectable drug delivery device includes a core containing one or more drugs and one or more polymers. The core may be surrounded by one or more polymer outer layers (referred to herein as “coatings,” “skins,” or “outer layers”). In certain embodiments, the device is formed by extruding or otherwise preforming a polymeric skin for a drug core. The drug core may be co-extruded with the skin, or inserted into the skin after the skin has been extruded, and possibly cured. In other embodiments, the drug core may be coated with one or more polymer coatings. These techniques may be usefully applied to fabricate devices having a wide array of drug formulations and skins that can be selected to control the release rate profile and various other properties of the drugs in the drug core in a form suitable for injection using standard or non-standard gauge needles.

Abstract: The subject invention relates to methods and compositions of steroid suspensions suitable for intraocular use in the treatment or prevention of a variety of ocular diseases. Specifically, the invention provides pharmaceutical compositions with significantly reduced endotoxin levels that are suitable for intraocular use. The invention also relates to methods of reducing the level of endotoxins within certain compositions, such as pharmaceutical compositions, that can be used for intraocular delivery.

Abstract: The present invention relates to the field of prodrugs of chemotherapeutic agents and method of use thereof.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for administering a corticosteroid to a posterior segment of an eye. In the method, a sustained release device is implanted to deliver the corticosteroid to the eye. The aqueous corticosteroid concentration remains less than vitreous corticosteroid concentration during release of the corticosteroid from the device.

Abstract: The systems and methods disclosed herein provide sustained delivery of a therapeutic agent for treating a patient, e.g., human, to obtain a desired local or systemic physiological or pharmacological effect. Method includes positioning the sustained released drug delivery system at an area wherein release of the agent is desired and allowing the agent to pass through the device to the desired area of treatment. In some embodiments, the method is for treating or reducing the risk of retroviral or lentiviral infection. In certain embodiments, the method is for preventing or reducing the risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, wherein the therapeutic agent is an antiviral agent.

Abstract: Disclosed is a sustained release system that includes a polymer and a pharmaceutically active agent dispersed in the polymer. The agent is in granular or particulate form, and has a rate of release from the system that is limited primarily by the rate at which the agent dissolves from the granules into the polymer matrix. Advantageously, the polymer is permeable to the agent and is non-release-rate-with limiting with respect to the rate of release of the agent from the polymer.

Abstract: A drug delivery device can, in whole or in part, be formed by co-extruding a drug core and an outer tube. The outer tube may be permeable, semi-permeable, or impermeable to the drug. The drug core may include a polymer matrix which does not significantly affect the release rate of the drug. The outer tube, the polymer matrix of the drug core, or both may be bioerodible. The co-extruded product can be segmented into drug delivery devices. The devices may be left uncoated so that their respective ends are open, or the devices may be coated with, for example, a layer that is permeable to the drug, semi-permeable to the drug, or bioerodible.

Abstract: Disclosed is a sustained release system that includes a polymer, a nucleoside analog or prodrug or codrug thereof, and optionally one or more additives that reduce the rate of release of the drug from the polymer. The device using such inventive system permits improved drug delivery in a localized manner over a prolonged period of time.

Abstract: Loss of hearing can be treated by implanting a sustained-release drug delivery device in the inner ear. The slow delivery of medication from the implanted device to the tissues of the ear, including the inner ear, can treat numerous conditions of the ear while avoiding the side effects associated with systemic administration.

Abstract: Implantable, injectable, insertable, or otherwise administrable compositions that form hydrogels when implanted, injected, inserted, or administered into or onto living tissues comprise a pharmaceutically effective compound wherein the pharmaceutically effective compound is a codrug, or pharmaceutically acceptable salt or prodrug thereof in admixture with a hydrogel-forming compound. The pharmaceutically effective compound may be any compound that is soluble in bodily fluids, or that forms bodily fluid-soluble adducts when exposed to bodily fluids. Exemplary compounds include analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antibiotic compounds. The hydrogel-forming compound is a biologically tolerated substance that forms a hydrogel upon exposure to bodily fluids, such as the interstitial fluid surrounding or within a joint.

Abstract: Genitourinary system disorders are treated with therapeutic agents, and optionally further with radiation treatments.