The drug discovery process: How do new glaucoma medications come to market?

Abstract

In the United States of America, no drugs have been approved to treat glaucoma in the past 25 years. The vast majority of drugs in the glaucoma specialist's armamentarium are indicated for the reduction (or treatment) of elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension - or words to that effect. Internationally, the situation is quite different, but this review will focus primarily on how drugs (and more specifically, glaucoma drugs) are discovered and developed for the US market. © 2010 Springer-Verlag New York.