Several US ophthalmology organisations have formed the Preservative Freedom Coalition, a brand-agnostic campaign to raise awareness about the unmet needs in treating ocular surface disease with preservative-free topical ophthalmic medications.

The Glaucoma Foundation, The Intrepid Eye Society, the National Medical Association Ophthalmology Section and Real World Ophthalmology have teamed up with eyecare-focused pharmaceutical company Thea Pharma. The goals of the Preservative Freedom Coalition are to improve awareness of the benefits of preservative-free medications, increase the availability of those treatments and advocate for policies that put preservative-free first, said Dr Aakriti Shukla, a Glaucoma Foundation medical advisory board member. “The Preservative Freedom Coalition has the potential to make a significant impact on the education of the entire eyecare community and to elevate the awareness of the deleterious effect of preservatives on the ocular surface.”

For more see, 'Unravelling NZ’s lack of preservative-free drops'.