Diabetic Macular Edema (DME)

OCS-01, an OPTIREACH® formulation of high concentration dexamethasone eye drop, has the potential to become the first non-invasive treatment option for DME

Diabetic Macula Edema is a leading cause of blindness in working-age adults

DME is an irreversible and progressive complication of diabetic retinopathy and is related to having consistently high blood sugar levels that damage nerves and blood vessels in the macula. It affects the area of the retina responsible for sharp vision used in activities of daily living such as reading, recognizing faces, and driving.

DME occurs when blood vessels in the retina swell and then leak, leading to a fluid build-up (edema) in the retina. This swelling and leakage are often exacerbated by inflammatory processes within the eye. There remains a significant need for early intervention and to treat suboptimal responders to VEGF inhibitors, the current standard of care.

NORMAL VISION
NORMAL VISION
EFFECTS OF DME
EFFECTS OF DME

Image: Source and Copyright: © 2022 by The Angiogenesis Foundation, Inc., All Rights Reserved. www.scienceofdme.org

PREVALENCE
~37M

DME is estimated to affect around 37 million people worldwide, and with the rise of diabetes, the prevalence is expected to increase to 53 million by 20401,2.

Current treatment options for DME are invasive

DME can be treated with different invasive therapies often requiring frequent visits to the retina specialist to receive injections into the affected eye. This represents a high treatment burden especially for working-age DME patients. Given the risk-benefit ratio of currently available invasive treatments, many DME patients are left untreated, especially those recently diagnosed or those with mild vision impairments. For patients currently treated, around 40% have an inadequate response to VEGF inhibition therapy3, the current standard of care. Oculis is developing OCS-01, potentially the first eye drop to treat DME, to help address some of the remaining unmet medical needs.
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OCS-01

is an innovative high concentration eye drop candidate to treat DME. It was developed with the proprietary OPTIREACH® technology to enable drug passage from the anterior to the posterior segment of the eye following topical application, a route of administration that contrasts with currently available DME therapies, all requiring invasive delivery to reach the retina, such as ocular implants or intravitreal injections.

OCS-01 eye drops successfully completed Stage 1 of the DIAMOND Phase 3 program in DME with 148 patients randomized. Results show a significant increase in visual acuity, a higher percentage of patients achieving ≥15-letter improvement in BCVA and a reduction of macular edema, all with robust statistical significance, bolstering the positive results observed in the previous Phase 2 trial. Stage 2 of the DIAMOND Phase 3 clinical program commenced in December 2023 and both 52-week Phase 3 trials, DIAMOND-1 and DIAMOND-2, are currently enrolling.

If approved, OCS-01 is poised to become the first non-invasive therapy for DME to address unmet medical needs for both earlier treatment intervention and for the treatment of suboptimal responders to anti-VEGF therapies, the current standard of care.


OCS-01 is an investigational drug and has not received regulatory approval for commercial use in any country.

Explore OCS-01 Clinical Trials in DME

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ONGOING / RECRUITING

Phase 3 Stage 2: Clinical Trial Evaluating The Efficacy and Safety of OCS-01 in DME (DIAMOND-1)

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ONGOING / RECRUITING

Phase 3: Clinical Trial Evaluating The Efficacy and Safety of OCS-01 in DME (DIAMOND-2)

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COMPLETED

Phase 3: Stage 1 Results of OCS-01 Eye Drops for the Treatment of DME

VIEW RESULTS
COMPLETED

Phase 2: Efficacy and Safety of Dexamethasone Nanoparticles (OCS-01) Eye Drops in Diabetic Macular Edema

CLINICALTRIALS.GOV

Rethinking Ophthalmology to Save Sight and Improve Eye Care

The treatment of DME with repeated intravitreal injections results in a significant burden for our patients. Within our field of retina, we have been vigorously seeking for non-invasive alternatives, aiming to intervene earlier and alleviate treatment burden. The very encouraging results from the Phase 3 DIAMOND Stage 1 program show that OCS-01 is a promising non-invasive treatment candidate which could address these unmet needs.”

Rethinking Ophthalmology