Approvals

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has given a positive recommendation for Santen’s Roclanda (netarsudil 0.02% and latanoprost 0.005%) as an option for patients suffering from primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) or ocular hypertension.

Roclanda is a fixed-dose combination of latanoprost and netarsudil, a novel Rho-kinase (ROCK) inhibitor, that lowers intraocular pressure (IOP) while targeting trabecular meshwork (TM) dysfunction. Roclanda is unique in its targeting of TM dysfunction, despite the TM playing a key role in maintaining normal IOP through aqueous humour drainage.

While the recommendation lists Roclanda as a cost-effective treatment option for patients, it also recommends it under specific circumstances – chiefly when sufficient IOP has not been achieved by a fixed-dose combination treatment, or when a treatment containing beta-blockers is unsuitable for the patient.

“Santen is committed to improving eye health, and we are delighted to receive NICE's recommendation of Roclanda as a cost-effective treatment for glaucoma and ocular hypertension. We are dedicated to finding innovative treatments that will improve the lives of thousands of patients at risk of sight loss across the UK. We are proud to be able to offer the first medicine which has been reviewed and recommended by NICE for the treatment of people with glaucoma in over 25 years,” said Craig Wallace, general manager for the UK and Ireland at Santen.