Raghu Raj
Professor, QUB & Founder Re-Vana Therapeutics
Raj Thakur is an internationally recognised expert in drug delivery and pharmaceutics with 20+ years of R&D experience. His work focuses on the design and development of innovative long-acting drug delivery systems, particularly those that reduce the burden of frequent intravitreal injections for chronic retinal diseases such as age-related macular degeneration and diabetic macular edema. He leads the GODDs Lab (Global Ocular Drug Delivery Science Lab) at Queen’s University Belfast, one of the foremost groups worldwide in ocular drug delivery. Professor Thakur is the Founder (and former CTO/CSO) of Re-Vana Therapeutics, a QUB spin-out pioneering long-acting ocular delivery technologies. He invented the EyeLief® and OcuLief® platform technologies. Re-Vana has raised significant funding and entered a landmark strategic collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim, valued at over $1 billion in potential milestones, to co-develop sustained-release therapies for chronic retinal diseases.
Seminars
As ophthalmology advances toward longer dosing intervals, extending the half-life of biologics has become essential to reducing treatment burden and improving patient outcomes. This workshop will explore historic lessons and current innovations in developing long-acting delivery systems, focusing on formulation strategies and preclinical considerations that shape successful translation. Participants will gain insight into stability optimization, depot design, and the regulatory mindset required to bring next-generation biologic delivery platforms to market.
Key Topics to be Explored:
- Review current challenges in biologic delivery, including molecular instability, aggregation, and degradation in ocular environments
- Analyze why limited progress has been made in developing long-acting delivery systems in ophthalmology
- Evaluate formulation opportunities for ocular biologics – including particles, implants, depots, and bioresponsive systems – and discuss their respective limitations in terms of stability, release control, and biocompatibility
- Discuss preclinical hurdles in sustained biologic delivery, including model selection and safety/efficacy evaluation Future gazing: a look into the next generation of delivery platformsÂ
