Implants Could Help Treat Eye Condition That Causes Vision Loss

Instead of receiving uncomfortable eye injections around once a month for a disease that can lead to blindness, patients may soon have an easier alternative.

- Zhaki Abdullah

A new innovation will allow them to be treated for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) twice a year via an implant the size of a rice grain.

Swiss healthcare firm Roche, which developed the treatment, is now conducting a study of the implant involving more than 400 participants in 16 countries, including Singapore—the only country in South-east Asia in the study and one of only three Asian countries.

The study, which ends in December 2026, looks at the efficacy and safety of refilling the implant every nine months, compared with every six months.

The implant has already received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Treating nAMD currently requires injections into the eye as often as once a month. Studies have noted that patients' discomfort with the treatment can lead to undertreatment of the disease.

It affects the part of the eye that provides the sharp vision needed for activities such as reading and driving, and can result in rapid and severe vision loss if left untreated.

The vision loss occurs when new and abnormal blood vessels grow uncontrolled under the macula—the part of the retina responsible for sharp central vision—causing swelling, bleeding, and fibrosis.