Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., a specialized pharmaceutical company primarily engaged in the ophthalmic field, has received approval from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare for the manufacture and sales of Tapcom combination ophthalmic solution (tafluprost/timolol maleate) for the treatment of glaucoma and ocular hypertension.

Tapcom contains both timolol maleate and tafluprost. Tafluprost is the active ingredient in Tapros ophthalmic solution 0.0015% , an original glaucoma and ocular hypertension treatment co-developed by Santen and Asahi Glass Co., Ltd. (Tokyo) and launched in 2008.

Glaucoma is a disorder characterized by optic nerve damage and progressive visual field loss resulting from abnormally elevated intraocular pressure (IOP). The disease is a major cause of visual impairments such as vision loss; left untreated, it may even lead to blindness. Because glaucomatous nerve damage and visual field loss is generally considered to be irreversible, therapy primarily focuses on reduction and control of IOP over an extended period of time.

Glaucoma treatment often involves the administration of multiple IOP - lowering medications. In other words, a combination of two or more types of drugs is more effective in controlling IOP t han a single compound. However, therapy with multiple drugs requires frequent doses and complicated dosing schedules, making it difficult for patients to properly manage to their treatment regimen. Tapcom is advantageous in this regard because it features two types of IOP - lowering compounds in a single formulation. Tafluprost is a prostaglandin F 2a analogue that promotes the outflow of aqueous humor, the accumulation of aqueous humor leads to high IOP, and timolol is a ß blocker that inhibits the production of aqueous humor.

The approval of Tapcom allows Santen to expand our current lineup of advanced pharmaceutical s, which include s monotherapies such as Tapros Ophthalmic Solution 0.0015% . We are confident the launch of Tapcom will benefit our efforts to improve the quality of life of patients everywhere by giving health care professionals a wider range of treatment options.