Diabetic eye disease: Developments that defined the first half of 2026

The first half of 2026 brought a steady drumbeat of regulatory and clinical news across the diabetic eye disease space, from a landmark autonomous AI screening clearance to phase 3 data challenging the decades-old standard of care for proliferative DR. Below is an overview of key developments from the first six months of 2026 in diabetic macular edema (DME) and diabetic retinopathy (DR).