Allergan Inc., the Irvine-based global specialty pharmaceutical company announced on Thursday that the Food and Drug Administration has approved its Ozurdex, an eye implant treatment for retinal disease called macular edema.

Macular edema is an eye disease where macula, a part of the retina located at the back of the eye swells and thickens owing to leaking or accumulating fluid from retinal veins into the macula. When the macula thickens, it may cause impaired vision and if swelling is caused by retinal vein leakage over long period of time, it may even result in permanent visual loss. Patients with diabetes are more likely to develop macular edema.

Ozurdex is an injectable, biodegradable polymer implant that releases the cortical steroid dexamethasone into the retina when placed in the back of a patient’s eye. Dexamethasone is an anti-inflammatory drug that treats the edema and improves vision. Ozurdex becomes available to doctors and patients in the third quarter of this year, said Allergan.

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