2026 Diabetic Retinopathy and Diabetic Macular Edema Pipeline

Watch as Peter K. Kaiser, MD, explains the poster and follow along with the graphics below.

Welcome to the second installment of this pipeline poster series from Retina Today. We kept several foundational elements from the first iteration of the poster, the most important of which is the classification of pipeline candidates by route of administration before subclassifying them by drug class. Keep in mind that this means that some classes of drugs may appear in more than one route. Steroid treatments, for example, may be found under the intravitreal, suprachoroidal, and drops route.

One class of drugs that appears in multiple routes of administration is also one that we should keep an eye on in 2026: tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), specifically, those that leverage intravitreal injection routes. Two TKIs—Axitinib (Axpaxli, Ocular Therapeutix) and vorolanib (Duravyu, EyePoint Pharmaceuticals)—are in pivotal studies. If those studies demonstrate safety and efficacy deemed sufficient by the US Food and Drug Administration, that may mean that we have new solutions to address diabetic retinopathy (DR) and/or diabetic macular edema (DME).

This year’s zoom-in illustration is dedicated to an intracellular mechanism of TKIs. Recognizing that the nuances and pharmacodynamics are complex, we nevertheless think a simple schematic depicting the ability of TKIs to block ATP binding sites at the intracellular level communicates TKIs’ fundamental value proposition.

There are several other drug candidates moving forward with pivotal studies for DR and DME. Keep an eye out for the teal badge indicating which drug candidates have entered this final phase of research. Similarly, look for the gene therapy badges scattered throughout the pipeline poster, the number of which hints at a possible forthcoming focus for researchers, funding, and conference organizers.

If you have any corrections, comments, or requests for additions to this poster, email Cara Deming, Director of Special Projects, at cdeming@bmctoday.com.