Intraocular implant provides sustained, drop-less NSAID delivery for postoperative pain and inflammation

LEXINGTON, MA / ACCESS Newswire / April 28, 2026 / LayerBio, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing sustained-release ophthalmic therapies, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted its Investigational New Drug (IND) application for OcuRing-K™, an intraocular implant designed to deliver therapeutic levels of ketorolac directly within the eye following cataract surgery.

OcuRing-K is a proprietary implant formulation engineered to provide sustained, localized delivery of ketorolac at the target tissue inside the eye during the critical postoperative period. By bypassing the ocular surface and delivering drug directly to intraocular tissues, OcuRing-K is designed to maintain consistent therapeutic exposure where it is needed most, while eliminating the variability and burden associated with topical eye drops.

OcuRing-K is built on LayerBio's OcuRing™ platform, a versatile sustained-release technology designed to enable delivery of a range of therapeutic agents inside the eye over extended periods. The platform is intended to address key limitations of conventional ophthalmic treatments by:

• Avoiding ocular surface exposure and associated side effects

• Achieving more efficient intraocular bioavailability at the site of action

• Reducing reliance on patient-administered eye drops and improving compliance

• Enhancing overall patient experience and satisfaction

"IND acceptance is a significant milestone for LayerBio and validates the potential of our OcuRing platform to transform how ophthalmic drugs are delivered," said Ken Mandell, CEO of LayerBio. "We are excited to advance OcuRing-K into clinical development and believe this technology has the potential to meaningfully improve outcomes and quality of life for patients undergoing cataract surgery."

LayerBio plans to initiate a Phase 2 clinical trial of OcuRing-K later in 2026. The study will be a randomized, vehicle-controlled trial designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the implant in patients undergoing cataract surgery, with a focus on pain control and postoperative inflammation.

LayerBio was spun out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and co-founded by Dr. Paula Hammond, Institute Professor at MIT and a pioneer in polymer-based drug delivery systems. The company's origins trace to foundational work in controlled drug delivery, with a shared objective of developing next-generation ophthalmic therapies that enable precise, sustained delivery of medications directly to intraocular tissues.

About LayerBio

LayerBio is a biotechnology company focused on developing sustained-release drug delivery solutions for ophthalmology. Its OcuRing platform enables targeted, long-acting delivery of therapeutics within the eye.

Contact Information:
Layerbio, Inc.
(617) 798-0880

SOURCE: LayerBio, Inc.