Ocular inserts

Abstract

Absorbable ocular inserts fabricated of materials that are biologically inert, biodegradable, non-allergenic, and insoluble in tear liquid, and a method for delivering substances to the eye using the ocular insert, are disclosed. In embodiment A of the invention, the insert and method include the covalent attachment of a carboxylic acid-containing substance to be delivered to a polymer that contains pendent carboxylic acid groups, through anhydride linkages. The drug is released over time by hydrolysis of the anhydride bonds. In embodiment B of the invention, a substance to be delivered (whether or not it contains a carboxylic acid group) is dispersed within an anhydride polymer or copolymer matrix and the mixture is formed into an appropriately shaped article for ocular delivery. In embodiment C of the invention, the insert and method include the covalent attachment of a carboxylic acid-containing substance to be delivered to a polymer that contains pendent carboxylic acid groups through methylene diester bonds which degrade in vivo over time.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.