Allergan clears first FDA hurdle for eyelash enhancer

After all the cat-fighting between Athena Cosmetics, Athena Bioscience, DermaQuest, Jan Marini and Allergan (maker of Botox Cosmetic) over their eyelash enhancing formulas, Allergan must be having a nice little chuckle to themselves as an FDA advisory panel—the Dermatologic and Ophthalmic Drugs Advisory Committee—gave their support to Allergan's Latisse on Friday.

Latisse is the working name for the eyelash growth stimulator that Allergan hopes to have on the market in 2009. Latisse is based on bimatoprost, which is a synthetic prostaglandin analogue currently used to treat glaucoma.

If approved by the FDA, Latisse will be the first, and according to CosmeticsDesign.com (12/8/08) only, FDA-approved pharmaceutical on the market for eyelash enhancement. Stay tuned...