US8563027 — Drug delivery through hydrogel plugs
Method of Use · Assigned to Incept LLC · Expires 2030-02-12 · 4y remaining
What this patent protects
This patent protects a medical prosthesis that blocks or reduces tear flow through the eye and delivers a drug, such as Decadron, using a hydrogel plug.
USPTO Abstract
An embodiment is a medical prosthesis for blocking or reducing tear flow through a punctum or canaliculus of a human eye and delivering a drug to the eye that comprises a dehydrated covalently crosslinked synthetic hydrophilic polymer hydrogel with dimensions to pass through a puncta lacrimali, with the dehydrated hydrogel absorbing physiological water to swell to at least 1 mm in cross-sectional width and conformably fit a canaliculus, with the hydrogel comprising a therapeutic agent dispersed through the hydrogel for release to an eye, with the hydrogel having a water content of at least about 50% by weight or volume when allowed to fully hydrate in vitro in physiological saline.
Drugs covered by this patent
- Decadron (dexamethasone) · Generic (originally Merck)
FDA Patent Use Codes
When a patent is method-of-use, FDA lists it once per applicable indication ("U-code"). Each U-code carves out a specific therapeutic use that generic filers must either license or design around.
| Code | Description | Drug |
|---|---|---|
U-2487 |
— | Decadron |
Bibliographic data sourced from FDA Orange Book + USPTO public records. Plain-English summary generated by AI grounded in source text. Patent term extensions (PTR, SPC, pediatric) may shift the effective expiry. Not legal advice.
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