Prefilled syringes for intravitreal drug delivery

Thérèse M Sassalos,¹ Yannis M Paulus^1,2

1Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, W.K. Kellogg Eye Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; 2Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

Abstract: Intravitreal injections of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) medications play an increasingly critical role in numerous retinal vascular diseases. Initially, anti-VEGF medications came in vials that had to be drawn up by the physician into a syringe for administration. In 2018, the US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) approved the ranibizumab 0.3 mg prefilled syringe (PFS), and in October 2016, the US FDA approved the ranibizumab 0.5 mg PFS. This article discusses the advantages of the PFS, including reduced injection time, possible reduced risk of endophthalmitis, reduction in intraocular air bubbles and silicone oil droplets, and improved precision in the volume and dose of intravitreal ranibizumab administered, along with possible disadvantages. Implications of the innovation of the PFS on intravitreal injection technique and clinical practice pattern are discussed and reviewed.

Keywords: intravitreal injection, intravitreous injection, anti-VEGF, ranibizumab, prefilled syringe, diabetic retinopathy