This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Combination therapy allows single players to become a team
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
 George Shafranov, MD, said a majority of patients with glaucoma need more than one drug to control IOP. |
LAS VEGAS — There are benefits to both fixed and nonfixed combination therapies for the treatment of glaucoma, said George Shafranov, MD, here at the Ocular Surgery News Symposium, Glaucoma: Improving Your Odds.
Dr. Shafranov noted that more than 50% of glaucoma patients need more than one drug to maintain IOP control.
Nonfixed formulations give physicians more freedom in prescribing, while fixed combinations are more convenient for patients and ultimately provide stronger results from a single bottle, he said.
According to Dr. Shafranov, fixed combinations provide the advantages of improved convenience, compliance and efficacy, as well as smaller copayments.
Nonfixed combinations may cause more confusion for patients, he said, as one agent may require once-daily dosing while another requires three-times-daily dosing.
There is currently one fixed combination with U.S. regulatory approval, a timolol-dorzolamide combination. Several others are awaiting Food and Drug Administration approval, Dr. Shafranov said.
Dr. Shafranov added that although more fixed combinations are coming, nonfixed combinations allow the most flexibility, and clinicians should not forget that point.