Bausch + Lomb Advances Two First‑in‑Class Eye Health Therapies Following New Clinical Results

Wednesday, August 26 2026 | 09 h 54 min | News

Bausch + Lomb is advancing two investigational therapies in its pharmaceutical pipeline after reporting new clinical results, including a dual‑action dry eye drop entering Phase 3 and a topical TRPV1 antagonist showing early efficacy in reducing ocular pain.

Dual‑Action Dry Eye Drop to Enter Phase 3

The company confirmed that its lifitegrast + PFHO combination eye drop will progress to Phase 3 trials. The therapy is designed to target both inflammatory and evaporative components of dry eye disease — two mechanisms typically treated separately.

A Phase 2 study involving 443 patients did not meet its Day 29 primary endpoint but showed a statistically significant improvement at Day 15, a timepoint accepted by the FDA for corneal staining outcomes. At Day 15, 41.6% of patients using the combination achieved a ≥3‑unit improvement in corneal staining, compared with 18.8% on lifitegrast alone.

Safety findings were consistent with the known profiles of XIIDRA® and MIEBO®, with no new signals reported. Phase 3 trials will use Day 15 as the primary endpoint.

TRPV1 Antagonist Shows Strong Early Pain Reduction

Bausch + Lomb also reported positive Phase 1b results for BL1332, a first‑in‑class topical TRPV1 antagonist being developed for ocular surface pain. In a capsaicin‑challenge model, BL1332 produced a statistically significant reduction in pain intensity versus vehicle and shortened pain duration from 37.8 seconds to 1.6 seconds.

Exploratory findings showed complete pain resolution in 68.2% of treated eyes, compared with 0% in the vehicle group. No severe pain was reported among BL1332‑treated participants.

BL1332 is currently being evaluated in a Phase 2 study in patients experiencing pain after photorefractive keratectomy, with topline results expected in the coming months.

Next Steps

Both programs are expected to continue through late‑stage development. Bausch + Lomb has indicated that future studies will explore broader applications for BL1332 across multiple ocular pain conditions.

Source: Bausch + Lomb

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