Allergan’s other Restasis risk

Global drug giant Allergan is trying to get the Supreme Court to reconsider its patent claims on a blockbuster — and trying to get the rest of society to forgive its tactics for defending them — but there’s another risk on the horizon. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals is running a trial to see whether its eye drug is superior to Allergan’s.

As STAT’s Adam Feuerstein reports, Aurinia has promised to release results from a mid-stage study testing whether its product, called voclosporin opthalmic solution, leads to fewer side effects than the billion-selling Restasis over four weeks. The study won’t generate enough data to submit to the FDA, but if Aurinia succeeds, it might be able to lure a big-money partner to take the drug forward and, eventually, cut into Allergan’s sales.

And if all goes well for Aurinia, Allergan’s patent situation could end being irrelevant.

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