Purpose: To compare ocular pharmacokinetics (PK), systemic absorption, and injectability of triamcinolone acetonide (TA) suprachoroidal (SC) and intravitreal (IVT) suspensions. Methods: New Zealand White (NZW) rabbits received a bilateral injection of 4 mg TA injectable suspension, TRI (TRIESENCE ®; Alcon) through either microneedle-based SC or standard IVT injection. Another group of NZW rabbits received a bilateral SC injection (4 mg) of either TRI or a proprietary TA suspension for SC use, CLS-TA (Clearside Biomedical). Blood and ocular tissues were analyzed for TA over 3 months. Separately, injectability of TRI and CLS-TA through a proprietary SC delivery system (SCS Microinjector®; Clearside Biomedical) was compared using microinjector syringe-plunger glide force measurement. Results: Suprachoroidal delivery of TRI, compared with IVT-TRI, resulted in ∼12-fold higher exposure in the retinal pigment epithelium-choroid-sclera, and comparable exposure in the retina. Conversely, SC-TRI, compared to IVT-TRI, resulted in 460-, 34-, and 22-fold lower exposure in the lens, iris-ciliary body, and vitreous humor, and negligible exposure in the aqueous humor. SC injection of either CLS-TA or TRI resulted in comparable and sustained ocular TA levels. Plasma TA levels were generally undetectable in both studies. A significantly greater and more variable glide force was measured for TRI vs. CLS-TA. Conclusions: Suprachoroidal delivery of TA enabled high and durable TA levels targeted to the chorioretina with limited anterior segment exposure. SC delivery of either CLS-TA or TRI resulted in comparable ocular PK profiles with low systemic exposure; however, CLS-TA required lower and less variable glide force than TRI, potentiating more consistent, controlled administration.
Keywords: CLS-TA; glide force; microinjector; microneedle; suprachoroidal; triamcinolone acetonide.