Patients with the eyelid disease Demodex blepharitis can now see a cure in Tarsus Pharmaceuticals’ Xdemvy, the first FDA-approved treatment for an ailment that affects some 25 million Americans.
The eye drops directly target Demodex mites, an ectoparasite infestation that causes the disease.
Tarsus expects Xdemvy, an eye drop formulation of pet flea and tick treatment lotilaner, to be available by the end of August. The company has already started marketing for the often-misdiagnosed disease with a campaign called “Don’t Freak Out. Get Checked Out," which launched in May.
And last year, the company started a marketing campaign called “Look at the Lids,” which encourages eye doctors to screen for the condition.
In two trials involving more than 833 patients, investigators testing the drug noted improvement in collarettes, which is the accumulation of the mite’s waste and eggs.
Before Xdemvy, the 1 in every 12 U.S. adults who suffer from the condition turned to tea tree oil and lid wipes, which don’t target the root cause of the disease.
Elsewhere, the company’s pipeline includes treatments for meibomian gland dysfunction, rosacea and Lyme disease.