Orange County Register

Jan Marini Skin Research Inc. has accepted the validity of Allergan’s patents covering its eyelash-enhancing drugs, the Irvine-based company announced today.

In response, Allergan said it will dismiss a patent infringement lawsuit that it filed against Marini over its rights to prostaglandin-related eyelash drugs such as bimatoprost.

In June, Marini announced a non-prostaglandin eyelash-enhancing drug, known as Marini Lash (left), which is different from the drugs covered in the lawsuit. It is available through dermatologists and skin-care professionals, the company said.

Allergan says it will soon seek Food and Drug Administration approval to market a so-far-unnamed drug for eyelash growth, which it expects will get the FDA’s nod sometime in 2009.

A similar medication by Allergan already being prescribed by some doctors for patients who want longer eyelashes. That drug, Lumigan, is marketed for treatment of glaucoma, but doctors can prescribe it for non-FDA-approved uses. (Its effects are pictured above.)

The new Allergan drug would be available by prescription in the United States. Patients apply it directly to the base of the eyelashes, unlike Lumigan eyedrops.

An informal survey of In Your Face readers turned up varied experiences with eyelash lengtheners. The survey is ongoing, but as of this post, responses were as follows:

• 26 percent are happy with applying mascara or stick-on lashes.
• 21 percent preferred Lumigan.
• 19 percent preferred Marini’s Age Intervention Eyelash, which is no longer on the market.
• 15 percent preferred a competitor, RevitaLash.

Related links:

• David Pyott, CEO of Allergan, discusses new eyelash drug on CNBC
• Jan Marini eyelash lengthener with new formula is about to reach the market
• Brief reviews of a dozen products from the Truth in Aging blog (January 2008).
• A first-person account about using RevitaLash by New York Times writer Alex Kuczynski.
• FDA press release about the seizure of Marini’s Age Intervention Eyelash.
• Allergan drug’s side effect — longer eyelashes

For more on cosmetic medicine, follow the links on the right side of this blog.

Botox maker Allergan announced today that it has completed tests of its eyelash growth drug and plans to apply within a few months for approval to sell it.

The Food and Drug Administration is likely to approve the treatment, bimatoprost, sometime next year, Irvine-based Allergan said.

A similar formulation from Allergan is already being prescribed by some doctors for patients who want longer eyelashes. That drug, Lumigan, is marketed for treatment of glaucoma, but doctors can prescribe it for non-FDA-approved uses.

The new Allergan drug would be available by prescription in the United States. Patients apply it directly to the base of the eyelashes, unlike Lumigan eyedrops.

Scott Whitcup, executive vice president of research and development, said some patients have found that Lumigan eyedrops produce discoloration of the iris or of skin around the eyes — side effects that will be kept to a minimum by using an eyelash applicator, the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reported.

Allergan has sued several companies that have sold similar eyelash-lengthening treatments, accusing them of infringing the company’s patents. Among them is the Jan Marini cosmetic company, which halted sales of its eyelash lengthener after the FDA seized its supplies, and is preparing to market a different formulation.

Allergan predicted it could sell as much as $500 million of the new drug worldwide each year. That compares to $3.7 billion in estimated sales of mascara per year.

Related links:

• David Pyott, CEO of Allergan, discusses new eyelash drug on CNBC
• Jan Marini eyelash lengthener with new formula is about to reach the market
• Brief reviews of a dozen products from the Truth in Aging blog (January 2008).
• A first-person account about using RevitaLash by New York Times writer Alex Kuczynski.
• FDA press release about the seizure of Marini’s Age Intervention Eyelash.
• Allergan drug’s side effect — longer eyelashes