Brinzolamide 1%/timolol 0.5%: safety and efficacy of a new fixed-combination IOP-lowering product for glaucoma

To provide a commentary on recent studies with the new IOP-lowering fixed-combination product brinzolamide 1%/timolol 0.5%.

Medline was searched for brinzolamide/timolol fixed-combination clinical literature (up to May 18, 2010) and the current comprehensive brinzolamide/timolol literature was reviewed.

Compared with another carbonic anhydrase inhibitor-containing product, dorzolamide 2%/timolol 0.5%, brinzolamide/timolol has similar IOP-lowering efficacy. Brinzolamide/timolol also produces superior comfort ratings as assessed by patients who have tried both drugs - this may be explained by the more physiologic pH of brinzolamide/timolol. A recent study reported that brinzolamide/timolol was preferred over dorzolamide/timolol at a ratio of nearly 4:1 among those expressing a preference.

These results demonstrate that brinzolamide/timolol is equally effective and more comfortable than dorzolamide/timolol, a fact that may positively impact patient adherence, leading to an increased likelihood of reaching target IOP goals.