Six months post-launch of LACRIFILL®️ Canalicular Gel for dry eye disease: what do we know?
Jai Parekh, MD, MBA, spoke with Ophthalmology 360 at the 2024 AAO Annual Meeting about the unique device LACRIFILL for dry eye disease.
Jai G. Parekh, MD, MBA, FAAO:
Good afternoon from Chicago and the American Academy of Ophthalmology. My name is Jai Parekh. I am a anterior segment eye surgeon in Northern New Jersey. I’m also the chief commercial officer at Nordic Pharma Eye Care. I’m so thrilled to be here, obviously, for many reasons. This is our Super Bowl of eye care. But here at Nordic Pharma, we actually launched LACRIFILL close to 6 months ago here in the US. Our launch has gone terrifically well. We all well know that in our practices, dry eye, such a huge burden for us in our practices. We have so many ways the last 2 years, with all these great launches in eye care, that are looking at ways to address dry eye. It’s a very big part of my practice, both medically and surgically around the time of cataract surgery. I would think close to two-thirds of my patients at any point in time have a dry eye diagnosis. Those that are sitting in the waiting room and when I go to surgery, probably three-quarters, 80% have some form of dry eye.
We’re not a drop. We’re actually a device. We are LACRIFILL, essentially 90% water, 2% hyaluronic acid. It is done in a very proprietary way where it’s actually cross-linked. That gives it a really great way of fitting into the lacrimal system. We include the lacrimal system. Many of you may think, well, wait a second here. This sounds like a punctal plug. Well, the J code is the same, but a punctal plug just does a punctum and a plug. But this actually creates a fill of the whole lacrimal system via this gel called LACRIFILL, again, hyaluronic acid. Majority is water, and the FDA approved it a year and a half ago through a 510(k) pathway. It was available in the market through Visant last year. Nordic Pharma picked it up, built a commercial team. We’re now developing that commercial team and growing it.
This year I consider to be our beta launch, and next year is going to be our full launch. We have a really terrific advisory board and a lot of great doctors both in ophthalmology as well as optometry to help us launch this product. Where does it fit in my practice and many practices? Well, quite frankly, you’re still going to use the eye drops you need to. Some people use over-the-counter artificial tears. Some people use prescription therapies as anti-inflammatories. Some patients now use some of the new products that address evaporation. Well, this is the end product. Think about your teeth. You have nice teeth. You get your teeth whitening maybe once a year or every 6 months, but you definitely still need to brush your teeth every day with a good toothbrush and a toothpaste.
Now for dry eye, you may have inflammation. You may have evaporation. You may have Demodex blepharitis. But all these patients have dry eye symptoms, and that’s our indication. LACRIFILL is indicated for dry eye symptoms. Almost invariably, any patient can be using the product, and this is a great way to intervene and really take care of the patient that may be burdened by polypharmacy or may not get the full therapeutic benefit from some of the drops that are out there. We’re the end, and yes, you could use this product, and for example, something to treat evaporation or inflammation.
The launch is going very well. We’ve gotten so many patient testimonials, so many doctor testimonials in both optometry and ophthalmology, and certainly a lot of testimonials from the staff saying, “You know what, doc? We’re hearing that these patients that have otherwise been miserable or not so thrilled with dry therapies are now feeling better.” I’m thrilled about this in 2024. We’re going to Q4 here. Academy for us has been great, and we’re looking forward to 2025 and LACRIFILL coming to your offices. My question to you is, are you a LACRIFILL-er?
