The company says OKO addresses critical unmet needs in ophthalmology. It aims to improve precision, procedural efficiency and patient safety compared to existing adapted injection methods.
Currently, intravitreal injections — essential injections for treating retinal diseases like wet age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy — rely on devices originally intended for entirely different medical applications, IDE Group said in a news release. The mismatch can lead to dosing inaccuracies, procedural inefficiencies and risks to patient safety.
IDE Group developed OKO in collaboration with ophthalmologists in Australia, the U.S. and Europe. The company says its auto-injector provides up to 59 times greater dosing accuracy compared to prefilled syringes and reduces procedural steps by 45%. OKO also significantly enhances patient throughput to cut costs by up to 78% per injection, the company says.
According to IDE Group, early feedback saw 90% of ophthalmologists say they preferred OKO over conventional prefilled syringes. The company is actively preparing its auto-injector for market entry through strategic partnerships and comprehensive clinical validation.
“IDE’s mission has always been to deliver meaningful innovations to healthcare. OKO redefines how ophthalmic drug delivery is implemented by delivering the right drug, at the right dose, precisely into the eye, ensuring therapeutic efficacy, reducing procedure complexity, and improving clinical outcomes,” said Richard Sokolov, executive director and co-founder of IDE Group. “OKO embodies IDE’s philosophy of combining ambitious innovation with practical experience,” Sokolov added. “We are committed to setting a new standard in ophthalmic care, enabling pharmaceutical companies and empowering clinicians to preserve their patients’ vision to give them a better quality of life.”
