The FDA has approved Iheezo (chloroprocaine HCl ophthalmic gel) 3%.
What is Iheezo?
It's a preservative-free, sterile, single-patient use ophthalmic gel that is safe and effective for ocular surface anesthesia. Iheezo is the first branded ocular anesthetic approved in the United States in nearly 14 years.
What did the studies say?
The safety and efficacy of Iheezo were demonstrated in three human clinical studies. The third study evaluated the administration of Iheezo in patients undergoing cataract surgery. It demonstrated that Iheezo not only worked rapidly (in about 1 to 1.5 minutes) and provided sufficient anesthesia to successfully perform the surgical procedure (lasting 22 minutes on average), but importantly, no patient dosed with Iheezo required a supplemental treatment to complete the surgical procedure.
Why do we need this?
The company states that its single-use packaging format decreases the risk of infection and medication errors associated with the use of communal eye drops.
When can we get this?
Iheezo will be available in 2023. (via)