Background: The emedastine patch was developed in Japan as the first transdermal drug delivery system of emedastine difumarate for allergic rhinitis.
Methods: A multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group comparison was conducted in patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis. Patients were administered Emedastine patches (4 or 8 mg), placebo, or levocetirizine hydrochloride (5 mg tablet) once daily for 2 weeks (double-dummy technique). The primary objective was superiority to placebo by the change of the total nasal symptom score (sneezing, rhinorrhea, and nasal congestion) in Week 2. Levocetirizine was a reference drug and not a comparator in this study.
Results: A total of 1276 patients were randomized to receive the 4 mg emedastine patch (n = 384), 8 mg emedastine patch (n = 382), placebo (n = 384), or levocetirizine (n = 126). The least squares mean (LSM) of the change from baseline of the total nasal symptom score (TNSS) in Week 2 was significantly larger in both emedastine patch groups than in the placebo group (adjusted p < 0.0001). In secondary analysis, LSM of the change in the TNSS was -1.20, -1.49, -0.44, and -1.32 in the 4 mg emedastine patch, 8 mg patch, placebo, and levocetirizine, respectively. Reductions in the number of episodes and scores of individual nasal symptoms were all significantly larger throughout the day in the emedastine patch groups than the placebo group (all p < 0.05). No clinically significant safety problems occurred.
Conclusions: The emedastine patch (4 and 8 mg) effectively and safely controlled symptoms of seasonal allergic rhinitis with sustained action throughout the day.
Study registration: JapicCTI-153092.
Keywords: Emedastine; Randomized controlled trial; Seasonal allergic rhinitis; Sustained action; Transdermal drug delivery system.
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