Diabetic macular edema (DME) is a leading cause of adult visual loss in developed countries and, with limited treatment options, represents a large unmet medical need.

Image credit: National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health

DME is caused by disruption of the blood–retinal barrier with increased permeability of the retinal vasculature leading to the accumulation of fluid in the macula, which causes photoreceptor disruption and ultimately visual loss. The incidence of DME and risk of visual loss increases with advancing disease severity and in the presence of other systemic co-morbidities such as hypertension, dyslipidaemia and renal disease.