Netarsudil lowers IOP in glaucoma, ocular hypertension

(HealthDay)—Netarsudil ophthalmic solution (0.02 percent; once daily) significantly reduced mean intraocular pressure (IOP) among patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension, according to a study published in the August issue of the American Journal of Ophthalmology.

In a double-masked, randomized, phase 3, noninferiority study, Albert S. Khouri, M.D., from the Rutgers New Jersey School of Medicine in Newark, and colleagues randomly assigned patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension (unmedicated baseline IOP >20 to <30 mm Hg at 8:00 a.m.) to either netarsudil ophthalmic solution 0.02 percent once daily (186 patients) or timolol ophthalmic solution 0.5 percent twice daily (186 patients).

The researchers found that daily netarsudil was noninferior to twice-daily timolol, with a mean treated IOP range from 16.3 to 17.9 mm Hg for netarsudil and 16.7 to 17.6 mm Hg for timolol (mean reductions from baseline of 3.9 to 4.7 mm Hg and 3.8 to 5.2 mm Hg, respectively). Netarsudil demonstrated noninferiority to timolol in patients with baseline IOP <27 mm Hg and <30 mm Hg in prespecified secondary analyses. For netarsudil, the IOP-lowering effects were sustained during six months of treatment. Neither drug had treatment-related serious adverse events. For timolol, there were statistically significant reductions in mean heart rate at all study visits. Among netarsudil-treated patients, the most frequent ocular adverse event was conjunctival hyperemia (47.9 percent), which was mostly mild.

"In conclusion, netarsudil [once daily] is effective at lowering IOP in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension, with tolerable ocular adverse events," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to pharmaceutical companies, including Aerie Pharmaceuticals, which manufactures netarsudil and funded the study.

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