Cosmetic Company Blinks Over FDA Action

Jan Marini Skin Research, a small California company that sells a popular cosmetic product to make eyelashes look longer, is suspending US sales to avoid further trouble with the FDA and a patent battle with Allergan, The Wall Street Journal reports. Marini's Age Intervention Eyelash Conditioner and several other companies sell eyelash products that contain ingredients that are similar to those in prescription drugs for a glaucoma.

In November, FDA agents seized several thousand tubes of a similar, discontinued Marini product the agency called a "misbranded drug." The FDA hasn't acted against the reformulated version of the product that the Marini firm is now withdrawing from the US market, the paper writes. Jan Marini, the ceo, tells the Journal she isn't aware of any safety complaints related to either version. She adds that she doesn't know if the FDA will allow sales of eyelash conditioners like hers that blur the line between cosmetics and drugs, but "I don't think this issue is going away."

Meanwhile, Allergan filed sued against several other eyelash-product companies alleging patent infringement. Allergan is tinkering with its Lumigan glaucoma med because a side effect is eyelash growth. This unintended consequence set off a race among cosmetics companies to create new eyelash treatments that contain either bimatoprost - the active ingredient in Lumigan - or other so-called prostaglandins found in glaucoma drugs.