Doxycycline 40 mg capsules (30 mg immediate-release/10 mg delayed-release beads): anti-inflammatory dose in rosacea

Anti-inflammatory dose doxycycline 40 mg capsules (30 mg immediate-release and 10 mg delayed-release beads) provide a sub-antimicrobial dose that reduces the inflammatory response in patients with rosacea without producing drug concentrations required to treat bacterial diseases. The efficacy of oral, anti-inflammatory dose doxycycline 40 mg capsules once daily in the treatment of adults with rosacea was demonstrated in two pivotal large, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trials. After 16 weeks' therapy, anti-inflammatory dose doxycycline 40 mg was significantly more effective in improving rosacea than placebo, providing a greater reduction in the total inflammatory lesion count (primary endpoint) than placebo. Anti-inflammatory dose doxycycline 40 mg was associated with a rapid onset of action, achieving a significantly greater decrease in total inflammatory lesion count than placebo by the first follow-up visit at week 3 in both studies. Maximum anti-inflammatory efficacy appears to be achieved with doxycycline 40 mg capsules once daily, as no additional improvement in rosacea symptoms was achieved with oral doxycycline 100 mg once daily (usual antibacterial dosage) in a small, randomized, double-blind trial. Anti-inflammatory dose doxycycline 40 mg was generally well tolerated in clinical trials, with most adverse events being of mild to moderate intensity.