The workshop will be dedicated to the discussion of issues concerning the treatment of ophthalmic diseases, deepening clinical, pharmacological and formulation aspects.

Ocular drug delivery is one of the most attractive and interesting but also difficult challenge facing by the pharmaceutical researcher. The development of a drug delivery system to reach therapeutic concentration in the eye requires a comprehensive knowledge of the complex and anatomically and physiologically unique structure of the eye.

There are many pathologies that affect the eye; they involve the ocular surface and the internal structures and depend on the alteration of various mechanisms.

Topical instillation is the most widely preferred route of drug administration to treat ocular diseases as it is easy to accomplish and meets patient compliance. Unfortunately, the ocular bioavailability is very low by this route due to the numerous physiological protective mechanisms of the organ and its static and dynamic barriers. Then, less than 5% of topically applied drug dose enters the eye and a fraction of it (0.001%) is expected to reach the posterior segment. Besides, small volume of eye compared to whole body and presence of blood retinal barriers make systemic administration an impractical approach, too.

For these reasons, formulation, method of administration and packaging of drugs are a crucial point in ophthalmic treatments.