Dr Eric Donnenfeld Talks Utilization, Accessibility of Lotilaner Ophthalmic Solution

Eric Donnenfeld, MD, from Ophthalmic Consultants of Long Island, discussed what patients could expect from treatment when using (XDEMVY, Tarsus Pharmaceuticals) as well as how affordable and accessible the medication will be.

Transcript

What can patients expect when they are prescribed lotilaner ophthalmic solution?

[Lotilaner ophthalmic solution] is a drug that is a neurotoxin that's specific to demodex. It has no effect on the human host at all. And it paralyzes the demodex organisms. It's prescribed twice a day and over a very short period of time, patients will feel more comfortable, their eyes will appear dramatically less red. And we've seen in our clinic patients who've responded who say that their dry eyes have improved significantly. I think this is because [lotilaner ophthalmic solution] has an effect on the demodex responsible not only for blepharitis, but also from meibomian gland dysfunction. So I found that patients are comfortable with this drug, there's very little side effects from using it, it's well tolerated, and it works very quickly.

Will lotilaner ophthalmic solution be accessible and affordable to all patients?

Any time a new drug gets approved by the FDA, there's always concerns about drug reimbursement from insurance companies. And like all new drugs [lotilaner ophthalmic solution] will have some issues in the beginning. But thankfully, we found that many private insurances are easily allowing access to [lotilaner ophthalmic solution]. We use a private company called BlinkRX that provides access to this medication that has had good success with over 80% of our patients being able to receive this medication on a regular basis. With Medicare, it's sometimes a little bit more difficult in the beginning. But like all new medications, I feel over time [lotilaner ophthalmic solution] will become more readily available. But it's really important as a clinician today to provide the therapy that's best for your patients. And by providing [lotilaner ophthalmic solution] we're basically treating a disease that's been untreatable in the past. And as we prescribe [lotilaner ophthalmic solution] more and more often the insurance companies will become more easily accessible in prescribing this medication.