Travatan has specifically been approved for the reduction of elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension, who are intolerant of other intraocular pressure lowering medications.
Travatan Z is a new formulation that eliminates benzalkonium chloride (BAK) from Alcon’s existing Travatan solution and replaces it with a system that is gentle to the ocular surface.
Alcon developed a BAK-free version of Travatan because long-term use of topical solutions containing BAK may compromise the ocular surface and exacerbate conditions such as dry eye.
“Because almost 40% of glaucoma patients suffer from ocular surface disease, Travatan Z is an advance in therapy which we believe will now enable doctors to address an unmet need of many glaucoma patients,” said Kevin Buehler, Alcon’s senior vice president.
The data demonstrated that Travatan Z is equally effective in reducing intraocular pressure in glaucoma patients compared to Travatan with BAK.