Shire has submitted a New Drug Application in the US seeking permission to market its experimental drug lifitegrast for dry eye disease in adults.
If successful, lifitegrast could become the first treatment approved to treat both the signs and symptoms of the chronic inflammatory condition, the group noted.
Representing a significant unmet medical need, dry eye is one of the most common complaints to eye care professionals, and Shire is expecting peak sales of over $1 billion for its drug should it make it to market.
Lifitegrast is a novel small-molecule integrin inhibitor formulated as a preservative-free topical eye solution that Shire acquired through its $160-million purchase of SARcode in 2013.
