Impact of TRYPTYR on a Patient's Quality of Life and Ability to Perform Work

Dry eye disease (DED) is a prevalent condition that commonly affects patients of working age in addition to the elderly.1-3 DED is a complex condition that results in ocular symptoms such as dryness and burning and signs such as decreased tear production (aqueous deficient DED) or increased tear evaporation (evaporative DED).4 Unfortunately, there is not a perfect correlation between DED signs and symptoms,5 which makes diagnosis and timely treatment challenging. With DED symptoms often being bothersome and there being a lack of universally effective treatment options,6 DED patients are significantly more likely to suffer from a decreased quality of life and a psychological condition such depression.7 Thus, the DED patient population would strongly benefit from new, innovative treatments that are based upon a novel mechanism.

Acoltremon 0.003% (TRYPTYR; Alcon Laboratories; Fort Worth, TX, USA) was recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as the first transient receptor potential melastatin 8 (TRPM8) agonist for the treatment of DED.8 Acoltremon acts by activating TRPM8 receptors expressed on the neurons of the ophthalmic division of the trigeminal nerve, which is the nerve that innervates the cornea and eyelid.8 This drugs subsequently stimulates cold thermoreceptor to increase tear production. While acoltremon 0.003% has been significantly shown to improve tear production and symptoms as measured by the Symptom Assessment in Dry Eye (SANDE) at 14- and 28-days post-treatment, the community currently lacks data related to key measures of quality of life such as one's ability to work and perform daily tasks. Thus, the purpose of this study is to determine if acoltremon 0.003% can significantly improve the quality of life of DED suffers

Inclusion criteria

• Adults ≥18 years of age.
• Have a history of DED for at least the past 6 months.
• Are currently using Restasis as directed by their eye care provider for ≥1 month.
• Participant intends to stop Restasis in the near future because and expressed dissatisfaction with effectiveness of Restasis in reducing dry eye symptoms..
• Are symptomatic as determined with the Eye Dryness visual analog scale (VAS) (Score ≥50), SPEED (≥7), and have an abnormal Schirmer test score [≥2 to <10 mm/5 min]) at Screening/Baseline.
• Have corrected distance visual acuity of 20/100 or better.
• Willing to discontinue contact lens wear throughout the study.

Exclusion criteria

• Have a systemic health condition that is known to alter tear film physiology (e.g., primary and secondary Sjögren's syndrome).
• Have a history of ocular surgery within the past 12 months.
• Have a history of severe ocular trauma, active ocular infection or inflammation that is not dry eye related.
• Punctal plugs in place for < 3 months and/or Lacrifill in place for > 5 months.
• Have ever used Accutane or are currently using ocular medications (must washout from all dry eye medications/treatments at least 1 week before entry, except for Restasis).
• Use of artificial tears within 2 hours prior to the baseline visit or during the study.
• Are pregnant or breast feeding.
• Have had a physical meibomian gland treatment withing 1 month of enrollment.
• Have a condition or be in a situation, which in the investigator's opinion, may put the participant at significant risk, may confound the results, or may significantly interfere with their study participation.