Coming soon: A drug that grows longer, thicker eyelashes

Washington, Mar 19 (ANI): A drug used to treat patients with glaucoma, a condition that raises the pressure inside the eye and can cause blindness, is now being marketed to make eyelashes longer, darker and thicker.

US pharmaceutical firm Allergan, which also markets popular wrinkle treatment Botox, is the company behind the drug, Latisse.

It uses the same formula as glaucoma drug Lumigan after scientists noticed the anti-blindness treatment boosted lashes.

"This is a new innovation for lashes. Latisse fulfills a significant and previously unmet aesthetic need in the marketplace," Discovery News quoted Frederick Beddingfield, Chief Medical Officer for Allergan, as saying.

According to clinical trials conducted by Allergan last year, 278 patients taking Latisse averaged eyelashes that were 25 percent longer, 106 percent thicker and 18 percent darker. That translates into 1.4 millimeters of eyelash growth after 16 weeks of use.

Allergan is currently shipping Latisse to pharmacies nationwide. With a doctor's prescription, patients could be applying Latisse within months. (ANI)