Bill Harvey: Tears shed in the States

Firstly, a paradox. This may be the first report from the US this week not to contain words such as ‘disaster’, ‘isolationism’ and ‘lack of unity.’

One of the key launches at the recent American Academy of Optometry conference was the release of the drug Xiidra from pharmaceutical company Shire. This solution of 5% lifitegrast ‘is indicated for the treatment of signs and symptoms of dry eye disease (DED)’. Until now, the only FDA-approved drug for DED has been Restasis (from Allergan) which aims to improve tear flow under conditions of surface inflammation and which is notoriously difficult to get hold of in the UK. Xiidra acts by inhibiting the action of T-cells on the ocular surface (a full explanation will appear shortly in Optician) and so blocks the inflammatory cascade that results in the all too familiar reported symptoms of DED. Clinical trial data suggests improvement in symptoms within two weeks of first use.