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news.Taro Pharmaceuticals USA, an affiliate of Taro Pharmaceutical Industries, is to initiate a phase III clinical trial to evaluate a novel formulation of its prescription head lice treatment Ovide.
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Ovide (malathion) is a prescription product for control of head lice in pediatric and adult populations. It is currently marketed by the US branch of Taro under the name Ovide Lotion, 0.5%.
The company hopes the new formulation will maintain the efficacy of Ovide Lotion with shorter application time and greater ease of use, thus improving patient compliance. Although Taro warns there can be no assurance of the successful completion of the study or of the eventual approval or successful commercialization of the novel Ovide product.
Taro has filed a patent application in the US Patent and Trademark Office with claims that cover the new, proprietary formulation.
According to Taro, approximately six to 12 million cases of head lice are reported annually in the US. The condition represents a problem for school children and officials, and results in lost school days for children and lost work days for parents. In addition, there have been a significant number of reports of lice resistance to the most commonly used over-the-counter (OTC) treatments.