The FDA recently announced the approval of Bausch and Lomb's Miebo eye drops for the treatment of dry eye disease.
With approximately 20 million people in the United States suffering from the symptoms of dry eye disease (DED), the announcement that a new eye drop has been approved is welcomed by dry eye sufferers. The overall prevalence of dry eye disease is on the rise with a notable increase in patients between the ages of 18 and 34 over the last 10 years. Almost 86% of these DED patients have excessive tear evaporation.
The drops are a perfluorohexyloctane ophthalmic solution that targets tear evaporation instead of tear formation. Excessive tear evaporation triggers a chronic cycle of friction and inflammation of the eye, which damages the surface of the eye. The most commonly reported adverse reactions to Miebo drops were blurred vision and eye redness, which was reported by less than 3% of clinical study participants.
Bausch and Lomb looks to make Miebo an affordable treatment option that will be available to patients in the second half of 2023.