ALLERGEN GETS EUROPEAN APPROVAL FOR GLAUCOMA TREATMENT

British drugmaker Allergan has received approval from the European Commission to market Ganfort, the company's Lumigan/timolol combination product (bimatoprost/timolol ophthalmic solution) for the treatment of glaucoma, in the EU.

"We are extremely pleased with the European Commission's approval of Ganfort, which enables Allergan to provide physicians and patients throughout Europe with a once-daily, highly-effective and well-tolerated form of combination therapy for glaucoma," said Scott Whitcup, Allergan's executive vice president of research and development.

Ganfort is indicated for the reduction of intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension who are insufficiently responsive to topical beta-blockers or prostaglandin analogues. A fixed combination of bimatoprost 0.03 percent and timolol maleate 0.5 percent, the drug offers IOP-lowering efficacy comparable to the free combination of these two agents, and greater efficacy than monotherapy with either agent used alone, according to clinical studies.