Quan Dong Nguyen, MD, on Sirolimus's Potential to Change Uveitis Treatment

At the Annual Meeting of the of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology in Baltimore, Maryland, MD Magazine was able to speak with Quan Dong Nguyen, MD, from the Byers Eye Institute at Stanford. Nguyen is one of the researchers on the important phase 3 SAKURA trials assessing the efficacy and safety of sirolimus for noninfectious uveitis.

Findings from the trials have been favorable, and the drug is currently under FDA review. Nguyen says the limited number of uveitis specialists in the United States and worldwide creates a demand for better treatments with easier delivery methods.

“To me this would be quite revolutionary, should we be able to have this modality and this mode of treatment for the patient, because it’s delivered locally,” he said, also citing the safety advantages of the drug over corticosteroids. “Hopefully, if we have an immunomodulating agent that is able to control the inflammation, such as intravitreal sirolimus, and at the same time not have the side effects associated with corticosteroid, that would be very welcome.”