Eliminating the Need for Additives in Multidose Preservative-Free Eye Care Formulations

There is a need for cost-effective multidose eye drop delivery systems that allow preservative-free formulations for long-term treatments, such as chronic dry eye and glaucoma. There are a few systems on the market which claim to work without any preservatives and this article will serve to review the current available systems. One of these is Aptar Pharma’s Ophthalmic Squeeze Dispenser (OSD), a multidose dropper that relies solely on mechanical measures to provide microbial integrity for the non-preserved formulation. It is widely available in Europe and around the world for OTC products, and  is the delivery system of the recently in the U.S. launched Restasis MultiDose™ eye drops by Allergan. The OSD system has also been used for other prescription products worldwide, such as for treatments of increased intraocular pressure.