Merck & Co., Inc. has launched Saflutan (tafluprost) in the United Kingdom and Spain, and additional launches in other countries are expected over the next several months, pending regulatory approvals, the company said.

Saflutan is a preservative free, synthetic analogue of the prostaglandin F2a for the reduction of elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) in appropriate patients with primary open-angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension. Saflutan is in phase III in the US.

On April 15, 2009, Merck & Co., Inc. and Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. announced a worldwide licensing agreement for tafluprost. Under the terms of the agreement, Merck agreed to pay an undisclosed fee as well as milestones and royalty payments based on future sales of tafluprost (both preserved and preservative-free formulations) in exchange for exclusive commercial rights to tafluprost in Western Europe (excluding Germany), North America, South America and Africa. Santen will retain commercial rights to tafluprost in most countries in Eastern Europe, northern Europe and in countries in the Asia Pacific region, including Japan. Merck will provide promotion support to Santen in Germany and Poland. If tafluprost is approved in the US, Santen will have the option to co-promote it there.

"Merck is pleased that we are now able to begin supplying Saflutan in approved markets to continue Merck's long standing commitment to ophthalmology and the patients who suffer from ophthalmic "diseases worldwide," said Vlad Hogenhuis, M.D., senior vice president of Neuroscience and Ophthalmics, Merck & Co., Inc. Glaucoma consists of a group of diseases that can damage the eye's optic nerve and can be associated with elevated intraocular pressure.¹ Primary open-angle glaucoma is the most common form of glaucoma.