DelveInsight lists 20+ glaucoma drugs
- DelveInsight’s 2026 open-angle glaucoma pipeline report says more than 18 companies are developing 20-plus drug candidates, spotlighting a crowded field beyond standard drops. - The report points to late-stage and mid-stage programs including Nicox’s NCX 470, Qlaris Bio’s QLS-111 and Glaukos’ iDose platform technologies. - The backdrop is a shift toward laser-first and sustained-release care in glaucoma management. (aao.org)
Open-angle glaucoma damages the optic nerve slowly, usually by keeping pressure inside the eye too high for too long. It is the most common form of glaucoma and a leading cause of irreversible blindness. (aao.org) (nature.com) Treatment has long centered on one goal: lower intraocular pressure, the fluid pressure inside the eye. Doctors usually do that with daily eye drops, laser trabeculoplasty that helps fluid drain, or surgery when the disease keeps progressing. (aaojournal.org) (aao.org) DelveInsight’s 2026 pipeline report says that treatment map is getting more crowded. The firm counts more than 18 companies and more than 20 pipeline drugs in open-angle glaucoma, spanning clinical and preclinical programs. (delveinsight.com) (researchandmarkets.com) Some of the better-known names in that field are already posting data. Nicox said in August 2025 that its Phase 3 Denali trial showed NCX 470 met non-inferiority against latanoprost, a standard glaucoma drop. (nicox.com) Qlaris Bio reported in February 2025 that its two U.S. Phase 2 trials met primary and secondary endpoints for QLS-111 in primary open-angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension. The company said adding QLS-111 to latanoprost produced up to 3.6 millimeters of mercury more pressure reduction than latanoprost alone. (qlaris.bio) (clinicaltrials.gov) Glaukos is pushing a different idea: put the medicine inside the eye so patients do not have to remember drops every day. Its iDose TR implant won Food and Drug Administration approval on December 14, 2023, for reducing eye pressure in open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. (accessdata.fda.gov) (investors.glaukos.com) Glaukos said in January 2025 that about 70% of iDose TR subjects in a 36-month follow-up remained controlled on the same or fewer pressure-lowering topical drugs after one administration. The company also said it had started a Phase 2b/3 program for next-generation iDose TREX, which it describes as having nearly twice the drug capacity of iDose TR. (investors.glaukos.com) (investor.wedbush.com) That pipeline matters because glaucoma care is already moving away from a drops-only model. The American Academy of Ophthalmology’s 2025 guidance cites evidence for selective laser trabeculoplasty as a first-line option and incorporates newer sustained drug-delivery approaches. (aao.org) (reviewofoptometry.com) The pressure to find alternatives is practical as much as scientific. Glaucoma often has no early symptoms, treatment can last for years, and missed drops can let vision loss continue quietly. (cdc.gov) (glaucoma.org) DelveInsight’s tally does not mean 20 new drugs are close to market. It does mean developers are testing more ways to lower eye pressure, extend dosing, and fit treatment earlier into a disease that still steals vision slowly. (delveinsight.com) (reviewofophthalmology.com)
