In the UK, more than 250 people begin to lose their sight each day, creating a significant health challenge for the NHS and global healthcare systems. Retinal diseases, such as wet age-related macular degeneration (wAMD) and diabetic retinopathy (DR), which often lead to diabetic macular oedema (DME), are leading causes of vision loss. In the UK, nearly 400 people are diagnosed with wAMD every day, and nearly 48% of adults who are blind suffer from wAMD. The disease severely affects central vision in older adults, making everyday activities such as reading, driving, and recognising faces difficult. Similarly, DR and DME are severe ocular complications of diabetes, affecting 28.5% of adults over 40 with diabetes. DR is the leading cause of blindness in adults aged 20-74 and is increasingly prevalent in younger populations, with 17% of type 1 and 42% of type 2 diabetics affected. This growing burden highlights the urgent need for more effective and sustainable treatment options. Currently, ophthalmologists manage wAMD, DR, and DME with intravitreal (IVT) injections of anti-VEGF biologics like aflibercept (Eylea(r)) and ranibizumab (Lucentis(r)). However, the requirement for monthly or bi-monthly injections places a substantial burden on patients and the healthcare system. Frequent injections can lead to side effects such as ocular bleeding, discomfort, irritation, and elevated intraocular pressure. For patients, regular trips to clinics are challenging, with 62% needing an escort, contributing to poor adherence. The increasing number of wAMD and diabetic patients, combined with the high frequency of injections, strains an already overstretched NHS. Reports from the Macular Society, the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, and the Royal National Institute of Blind People show that many clinics struggle to meet recommended waiting times, leading to preventable vision loss in some patients. Re-Vana has developed a novel, disruptive, photocrosslinked biodegradable sustained-release drug delivery implant, EyeLief-SD(tm), designed to address these challenges. This proprietary implant provides continuous drug release for up to six months, significantly reducing the need for frequent IVT injections. By offering a long-acting solution for wAMD, DR, and DME, EyeLief-SD has the potential to alleviate treatment burden, enhance patient compliance, and improve therapeutic outcomes. This innovation stands to benefit patients, clinicians, healthcare providers, and the pharmaceutical industry alike, providing a more efficient, patient-friendly treatment option.

In the UK, every day more than 250 people start to lose their sight - creating a major health challenge to the NHS and global healthcare systems. The growth of new leaky blood vessels releasing fluid below or within the retina contributes to severe ocular diseases such as 'wet' age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and the complications of diabetes: diabetic retinopathy (DR) and diabetic macular edema (DME), in adults over 50-60 yrs old to 80 and beyond. For example, in the UK, nearly 400 individuals are diagnosed with AMD every day. Nearly 48% of UK adult AMD sufferers go blind due to the disease - which affects the central vision in the elderly making simple daily tasks such as reading, watching TV, car driving or recognising faces difficult. With increasing lifespan and the incidence of obesity, the prevalence of these diseases will continue to rise. Currently, ophthalmologists treat 'wet' AMD patients by direct ocular injection of expensive aqueous formulations of biologics. However, the need for monthly/bimonthly injections leads to poor patient compliance due to some adverse events effects such as bleeding in the eye, discomfort, redness, irritation and increase in intraocular pressure. A major compliance issue is the travel to and from the hospital, with 62% of patients requiring an escort to the ophthalmology clinic - leading to poor adherence. The rise in the number of AMD patients combined with the need for frequent injections puts pressure on an already over-stretched NHS still recovering from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Surveys by the Macular Society, the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, and the Royal National Institute of Blind People, have shown that many clinics fail to meet recommended waiting times for AMD retreatment. Real-world data shows visual acuity deteriorates by 5-6 years despite promising clinical trials due to failed adherence. Re-Vana has developed OcuLief - a disruptive injectable biodegradable sustained-release formulation, crosslinked _in situ_ with a simple uv light pulsed device. The small volume implant will provide significant clinical benefits over current monthly intravitreal injections. Following injection into the eye, the implant would provide a continuous release for effective AMD treatment over a minimum of a 6 months and up to 12 months and potentially beyond. Therefore, the impact of this research will offer major benefits to a wide variety of users such as patients, scientists, clinicians, industry, and healthcare providers.

In the UK, every day more than 250 people start to lose their sight - creating a major health challenge to the NHS and global healthcare systems. The growth of new blood vessels and leak fluid below or within the retina contributes to severe ocular diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in adults over 65 yrs. old. For example, in the UK, nearly 400 individuals are diagnosed with AMD every day. Nearly 48% of the UK adults are blind due to AMD - which affects the central vision in the elderly making simple daily tasks such as reading, watching TV, driving or recognising faces difficult. With increasing lifespan and the incidence of obesity, the prevalence of these diseases will continue to rise. Currently, ophthalmologists treat their AMD patients by direct injection of expensive aqueous formulations of biologics into the eye. However, the need for monthly injections leads to poor patient compliance due to several unwanted effects including bleeding in the eye, discomfort, redness, irritation and increase in intraocular pressure. A major issue is the travel to and from the hospital, with 62 % of patients requiring escort -- leading to poor adherence. The rise in the number of AMD patients combined with the need for monthly injections puts pressure on a stretched NHS. Surveys by the Macular Society, the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, and the Royal National Institute of Blind People, have consistently show that many clinics fail to meet recommended waiting times for AMD treatment; and some clinicians frankly admit that patients have lost sight as a result. Re-Vana has developed a novel disruptive photocrosslinked proprietary biodegradable sustained release drug delivery implant, EyeLief. The implant will provide significant clinical benefits over current monthly intravitreal injections. Following injection into the eye, the implant would provide a continuous release for effective AMD treatment over a 4-6 months period. Therefore, the impact of this research will offer major benefits to a wide variety of users such as patients, scientists, clinicians, industry and healthcare providers.