An experimental glaucoma drug, BOL 303259-X (Bausch + Lomb), reduces intraocular pressure as well as or better than latanoprost, according to results released at last month’s American Glaucoma Society meeting, in San Francisco.

In the Phase II clinical trial, researchers evaluated 413 patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. The patients were randomized to one of four once-daily BOL 303259-X groups (0.006%, 0.012%, 0.024% or 0.040%) or a once-daily latanoprost group. The patients’ IOP was assessed seven times during a 28-day dosing period.

At the study’s conclusion, the researchers found that patients in the BOL 303259-X 0.024% group had a mean IOP reduction of 9.0mm Hg, compared with a decrease of 7.8mm Hg in those treated with latanoprost.

“We found that the optimal dose of the drug produced a significantly greater reduction in intraocular pressure than latanoprost at 28 days, but with a similar side-effect profile,” said researcher Robert N. Weinreb, MD, chairman and distinguished professor of ophthalmology at the University of California, San Diego, and consultant for Bausch + Lomb. “Based on these data, a Phase III clinical trial program has been initiated.”