EU approves Simbrinza for Glaucoma and Ocular Hypertension-Alcon/Novartis

Alcon has announced that Simbrinza eye drops suspension (brinzolamide 10mg/mL and brimonidine tartrate 2mg/mL) has been approved by the European Commission to decrease elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) in adult patients with open-angle Glaucoma or Ocular Hypertension, for which monotherapy provides insufficient IOP reduction.

Simbrinza, administered with one drop into the affected eye(s) twice daily, combines two well-established treatments for elevated IOP into one multi-dose bottle, offering a simplified schedule compared to brinzolamide and brimonidine administered separately. Simbrinza is also the only fixed-combination glaucoma treatment without a beta-blocker. Beta blockers are commonly prescribed to lower IOP, but are contraindicated for many glaucoma patients suffering from certain respiratory or cardiac conditions.

The launch of Simbrinza in the EU will start in the UK in the third quarter of 2014, followed by other European markets later in 2014 and in 2015. In the US, Simbrinza was approved by the FDA and has been available in the market since 2013.