Intravitreal injection remains the most accessible and widely adopted method for delivering therapeutics to the back of the eye. Although the procedure has become routine and the manufacturing can be readily scaled, complex challenges still emerge in the development of new retinal medicines. This session explores evolving design strategies to optimize delivery, formulation compatibility, and dose control.

• From early devices to new designs, inconsistent dosing intervals between patients remains a obstacle during clinical development, making this a key focus for innovation
• High-concentration, low-volume delivery is essential to reach retinal targets, but these formulations introduce manufacturing and stability issues
• Formulation viscosity, needle size, and visual interference are key considerations that need to be addressed when designing for clinical and adoption success
• Biologics and other large molecules amplify the challenges encountered for intravitreal drug development, so stable small molecules remain dominant
• Overcoming these barriers for all drug modalities is critical for broader therapeutic expansion