Tafluprost: The First Preservative-Free Prostaglandin to Treat Open-Angle Glaucoma and Ocular Hypertension

Abstract

Clinical trial data suggest that tafluprost is as efficacious as other agents used in the management of ocular hypertension and glaucoma. Its use may be especially advantageous in people with allergies, sensitivities to preservatives, or dry or sensitive eyes.

How Ocular Surface Disease Impacts the Glaucoma Treatment Outcome

“…Currently, preservative-free topical glaucoma medications which come in single-dose units (SDUs) are also available, and their use allows total avoidance of preservatives with all their associated adverse effects. However, SDU manufacturing and packaging make this type of medications expensive and difficult to use for some patients [33]. …”

“…Their use offers clinically relevant long-term benefits to glaucoma patients and may help maintain ocular surface health for an extended period of time [31–33]. …”

Mechanisms of benzalkonium chloride toxicity in a human trabecular meshwork cell line and the protective role of preservative‐free tafluprost

“…To our knowledge, this is the first study of the effects of tafluprost on primary HTMC. Furthermore, other studies link tafluprost use with better tolerability, fewer ocular surface disease changes and a reduction in abnormal conjunctival cells relative to preservative‐containing PGAs . When correlated to clinical findings, these results may suggest that PF tafluprost can be of benefit to patients.…”

Preservative-free tafluprost in the treatment of open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension in India: a phase III clinical trial

“…Tafluprost 0.0015% (Zioptan ® , Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ) was the first PF PGA in the US market; PF tafluprost was approved in February 2012 and has since been used in the treatment of OHT and OAG. Tafluprost is chemically and structurally similar to other PGAs and has been marketed in Japan and several European countries since 2008 .…”