BRIEF—Shire's Xiidra approved in first market outside USA

Ireland-based drugmaker Shire (LSE: SHP) has announced that Xiidra (lifitegrast ophthalmic solution 5%), a twice-daily eye drop solution to treat the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease in adults, has been approved in Canada, marking the first approval for the treatment outside of the USA.

Xiidra is the first new prescription medication for dry eye disease to be approved in Canada in seven years, providing patients with an effective treatment option for this common eye disease.

It will be available for patients in Canada in early 2018.