Study on Ophthalmic Solutions for Glaucoma and Ocular Hypertension

A recent study published in the Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology compared the effectiveness and safety of two fixed-dose combination (FDC) ophthalmic solutions for treating open-angle glaucoma (OAG) and ocular hypertension (OHT). This study evaluated the efficacy of the FDC of netarsudil 0.02%/latanoprost 0.005% (NET/LAT; Roclanda®) against bimatoprost 0.03%/timolol maleate 0.5% (BIM/TIM; Ganfort®).

Over a 6-month period, the MERCURY-3 study included patients over 18 years with OAG or OHT that was insufficiently controlled by topical medication. The efficacy and safety of NET/LAT and BIM/TIM were assessed at various intervals throughout the study.

The results indicated that NET/LAT was non-inferior to BIM/TIM in reducing intraocular pressure (IOP), with no statistically significant difference between the two treatments. Both treatments demonstrated a mean diurnal IOP ranging from 15.2 to 15.6 mmHg, where NET/LAT showed comparable efficacy to BIM/TIM. Also, no treatment-related adverse events were observed, with most adverse events being mild to moderate in severity.

The most common treatment-related adverse events were conjunctival hyperemia and cornea verticillata, where NET/LAT showed slightly higher rates of conjunctival hyperemia when compared to BIM/TIM. Further, these adverse events were consistent with previous findings and did not pose significant safety concerns.

This research emphasized the significance of the findings by stating that once-daily NET/LAT provides a compelling alternative to the fixed-dose combination treatment option for patients with OAG and OHT. This study offers valuable insights into the efficacy and safety profile of NET/LAT that expands the treatment options for individuals with these sight-threatening conditions.

Reference

Stalmans, I., Lim, K. S., Oddone, F., Fichtl, M., Belda, J. I., Hommer, A., Laganovska, G., Schweitzer, C., Voykov, B., Zarnowski, T., & Holló, G. (2023). MERCURY-3: a randomized comparison of netarsudil/latanoprost and bimatoprost/timolol in open-angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension. In Graefe’s Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology (Vol. 262, Issue 1, pp. 179–190). Springer Science and Business Media LLC. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-023-06192-0