Latica Ophthalmic Solution 5%, a dry eye treatment jointly developed by GL PharmTech (204840.KQ) and Ajou Pharm, has won approval as a domestically developed new drug. It is the first dry eye drug developed in-house by a Korean pharmaceutical company and will compete for prescriptions against existing eye drops in a domestic market worth about 500 billion won ($360 million).
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said on the 8th that it had approved Latica Ophthalmic Solution 5%, whose active ingredient is recoflavone hydrate, as the country's 44th domestically developed new drug. Latica works by promoting mucin secretion on the ocular surface of adult dry eye patients, stabilizing the tear film and repairing damage to the corneal and conjunctival epithelium.
According to pharmaceutical market researcher UBIST, South Korea's dry eye treatment market was worth about 480 billion won as of 2024 and is now estimated at around 500 billion won. Competing treatments include diquafosol-based drugs, which stabilize the tear film by promoting tear and mucin secretion, and rebamipide-based drugs, which repair corneal and conjunctival epithelial damage by increasing mucin secretion.
"Compared with existing dry eye treatments, Latica offers the prospect of anti-inflammatory effects while reducing side effects," an official at GL PharmTech said. "We are targeting commercialization in the second half of next year after going through the insurance reimbursement listing process."
The approval followed procedures the drug safety ministry established last year for reviewing new drug applications, under which a 20-member dedicated review team including specialist reviewers gave priority to assessing compliance with good clinical practice (GCP) and good manufacturing practice (GMP) standards.
