Topical shows promise as nonsurgical option to reduce periorbital fat

An active ingredient used in the treatment of glaucoma is showing promise as a nonsurgical option in the reduction of periorbital fat.

The biotech company Topokine announced phase 2 study results for its XAF5 Ointment and will present those findings at the American Academy of Dermatology annual meeting March 21, 2015. 

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Researchers report nearly half of patients in the XAF5 group showed bilateral improvement of at least 1 grade on the clinician-reported Lower Eyelid Steatoblepharon Severity (LESS) scale. XAF5 Ointment was also superior to placebo in the:

·      mean change in the patient-reported LESS scale

·      Patient Satisfaction Scale 1, which assesses patients’ perceptions of eyelid appearance on dimensions of happiness, bother, self-consciousness, embarrassment, old appearance, and tired appearance

·      Patient Satisfaction Scale 2, which assesses overall satisfaction with eyelid appearance, face appearance and treatment

“Of patients in the XAF5 group, 75% reported improved facial appearance and 85% were satisfied with the treatment,” according to the release.

NEXT: XAF5 Ointment was well tolerated. 

XAF5 Ointment was well tolerated. 

“There were no systemic or ocular adverse events associated with XAF5 Ointment. The only adverse experiences were mild, local, and reversible. The only statistically significant adverse experience was a mild hyperemia … of the skin in 18% of patients, which resolved within several days of starting treatment,” Michael S. Singer, M.D., Ph.D., an ophthalmologist and Topokine’s chief scientific officer, writes in an email to Dermatology Times.

If approved, XAF5 could be the first topical pharmacologic therapy to reduce excess subcutaneous fat. Topokine also is conducting a study looking at XAF5 for reducing fat under the chin.

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The company’s ophthalmologist founders made the discovery for the indication while treating patients for glaucoma, according to press material. Topokine has not disclosed the specific active ingredient in this product, but it is based on an FDA-approved medication, according to Dr. Singer.

“XAF5 Ointment is a new product specifically designed to deliver the active ingredient across the skin and into subcutaneous fat,” Dr. Singer writes.

The product “…opens a whole new area of opportunities: the non-surgical reduction of periorbital fat, for one,” Jeffrey S. Dover, M.D., past president of the American Society of Dermatologic Surgery and a member of Topokine’s scientific advisory board, writes in an email to Dermatology Times.

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“Today’s face and body contouring market is defined by surgery and office-based procedures with injectables and devices,” says Murat Kalayoglu, M.D., Ph.D., the company’s president and CEO.  “We believe that existing therapies represent only the tip of the iceberg, and that beneath the surface are a vast number of people holding out for once-daily topical therapies, which they can use under a physician’s supervision in the comfort and privacy of their own homes.”

Another product in Topokine’s pipeline is TAT4 Gel, which increases subcutaneous fat and is in clinical development for hand and face rejuvenation. 

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