Tarsus Demonstrates Lotilaner’s Potential In Preventing Lyme Disease

Lotilaner, the active ingredient in Tarsus’s Demodex blepharitis drug Xdemvy, showed significant ability to kill ticks in a small Phase IIa study. Analysts call the Lyme program a likely out-licensing opportunity for Tarsus.

Tick warning
Tarsus may have a non-vaccine approach to preventing Lyme disease • Source: Shutterstock

Already on the market with a topical formulation of lotilaner for Demodex blepharitis, Xdemvy, Tarsus Pharmaceuticals Inc. is now pursuing a “pipeline-in-a-pill” strategy and developing the one-time veterinary antiparasitic agent in various formulations for Lyme disease, rosacea and meibomian gland dysfunction. On 22 February, the Irvine, CA-based company unveiled Phase IIa data showing strong tick-killing capability in human volunteers that it believes could position lotilaner as an on-demand prophylaxis for people at moderate-to-high risk for contracting Lyme disease.

Tarsus obtained US Food and Drug Administration approval of Xdemvy, which inhibits parasite-specific GABA-Cl channels, in an eyedrop formulation last...

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