Durysta

A Medical Breakthrough for Glaucoma

 

Durysta is a medical breakthrough designed to treat open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. Now FDA-approved, it is a tiny dissolvable implant placed in your eye by your doctor that releases medicine to lower the pressure in your eye. Durysta (made by Allergan) is an excellent option for those patients who have difficulty taking daily medicated eye drops for glaucoma, take multiple eyedrops, or have adverse reactions to the medicine due to ocular surface toxicity.

Durysta delivers the medicine directly to the target tissue so that patients do not have to remember to do it themselves or suffer from the side effects or cost of the eye drops.

How Does Durysta Work?

 

This biodegradable sustained-release implant continuously delivers the prostaglandin analog, bimatoprost, within the eye. Bimatoprost reduces and maintains healthy eye pressure levels. This preservative-free medication is placed within a tiny rod-shaped cartridge and inserted into the eye’s anterior chamber by an ophthalmologist. It is perfectly safe and only takes a 5-minute office procedure.

Durysta is pre-loaded with 10 mcg of bimatoprost in a single-use applicator. Your ophthalmologist will inject this implant into the front nasal side of your eye. You can relax in the knowledge that the drug delivery system is a one-time use sterile applicator, which is an important consideration after the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The bimatoprost implant is biodegradable, so it will naturally break down over time. There is no need to schedule a procedure to remove it. The implant will simply dissolve and be eliminated by your body. Notably, many patients show controlled intraocular pressure levels after Durysta has broken down.

dime

Durysta is smaller than the i on a dime.

How Long Will Durysta Last?

 

Durysta is designed to last up to 6 months in patients with open-angle glaucoma (OAG) and ocular hypertension (OHT). The great news is that you will only have to follow up with your eye doctor two or three times per year to replace your implant.Meanwhile, you’ll be free from using eye drops and worrying about whether the full amount of medication made it into your eye.

Who Is a Candidate for Durysta?

 

Durysta is indicated for people diagnosed with open-angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension. However, everyone is an ideal candidate for Durysta. It is contraindicated under the following circumstances:

  • An infection within or surrounding your eye
  • You have undergone a corneal transplant
  • You have been diagnosed with corneal endothelial cell dystrophy
  • Your posterior lens capsule is ruptured or missing
  • You are allergic to bimatoprost or any of the components of the implant.

What Are the Side Effects of Durysta?

 

Some of the adverse events for Durysta patients can experience include:

  • Eye redness
  • Eye irritation
  • Eye pain
  • A foreign body sensation within the eye
  • Light sensitivity (photophobia)
  • Blurred vision
  • Headache
  • Conjunctival hemorrhage
  • Iritis
  • Increased intraocular pressure

Please be aware that this is not a complete list of side effects.

From the Doctor: Don Nguyen M.D.

 

“Durysta works very well in the patients who are good candidates to deliver glaucoma treatment directly to their eyes rather than relying on them to put the drops in for themselves daily. Topical medications often work great but don’t work at all unless you use them every day. They also certainly come with side effects, including cost. Durysta helps reduce the medication burden and reduce the common issue of compliance in our aging population of patients that oftentimes are already using a variety of other daily medications.”