A new kind of dry eye disease medication has won FDA approval. | Courtesy of Shutterstock
+ Technology/Innovation
Amanda Rupp | Jul 17, 2016

New dry eye disease medication gains FDA approval

Officials with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently granted approval for Xiidra, a lifitegrast ophthalmic solution that is designed to treat dry eye disease.

Xiidra, the first treatment categorized with a new kind of drugs, is an antagonist of lymphocyte function-associated antigen 1 (LFA – 1). The treatment is meant to resolve both the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease.

Dry eye disease comprises several different conditions that describe a patient whose eyes don’t manufacture enough tears. It can also refer to patients whose tears don’t have the proper consistency.

“Normal tear production is needed for clear vision and eye health,” Dr. Edward Cox, director of the Office of Antimicrobial Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said. “This approval will provide a new treatment option for patients with dry eye disease.”

Dry eye disease typically develops as people age. An estimated 5 percent of adults in the U.S. between the ages of 30 and 40 suffer from this health condition; approximately 10 to 15 percent of people who are more than 65 years old have the condition. Dry eye disease is more frequently found among women.

When dry eye disease is serious and left untreated, it can cause ulcers, pain and scars on the cornea, which is part of the eye. Dry eye patients have more challenges reading and using computers, in addition to a variety of other activities.

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