New therapeutic approaches in the diabetic macular edema pipeline

As with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), anti-VEGF injections remain the first-line therapy for diabetic macular edema (DME). These treatments have changed patients’ lives and offered relief for many, but they represent a step forward for the treatment of DME, not a cure. As such, a small group of phase 3 candidates in the pipeline are testing mechanisms and delivery routes that are distinct from repeated intravitreal anti-VEGF antibody injections and may offer a new first-line approach to this disease.