Allergan announces approval of glaucoma drug

Allergan has revealed it has received approval from the FDA for Lumigan, a new treatment for reducing intraocular pressure (IOP) – a leading cause of glaucoma.

Lumigan is now approved as first-line treatment administered as a once-daily eye drop that acts to reduce the IOP, which can lead to a damaged optic nerve and consequently impaired vision. Although Lumigan has widely been available as a second-line treatment, the new ruling demonstrates that lipid-type drugs may be becoming a new standard treatment for glaucoma, according to one expert.

Professor Paul P Lee, professor of ophthalmology at Duke University, remarked: “The FDA’s first-line indication for Lumigan helps to validate that the lipid class of medications has become the mainstay of IOP-lowering therapy and that once-a-day lipids are becoming the therapy of choice based on their efficacy, systemic safety and ease of use.”

Scott Whitcup, Allergan’s executive vice-president, added: “This first-line indication supports the initial use of Lumigan to lower elevated IOP associated with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension.”

“We are pleased to offer eye care professionals this effective therapy to treat elevated IOP in their glaucoma patients at any point in the course of the disease,” he added.

Although NICE guidance is not available for the use of Lumigan, the Midlands Therapeutics Review and Advisory Committee said the efficacy of the drug was “relatively strong” and had altered its review to include first-line use of the drug.

The committee said that glaucoma occurs in one to two per cent of the population aged over 40, increasing to five per cent aged over 70.

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