Sight Sciences Study Finds TearCare More Effective and Cheaper Than Cyclosporine for Dry Eye Relief

Author: Benzinga Newsdesk | July 30, 2025 07:13am

Sight Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGHT) (Sight Sciences or the Company), an eyecare technology company focused on developing and commercializing innovative technology intended to transform care and improve patients' lives, today announced the results of a cost-utility analysis (CUA) assessing the cost-effectiveness of the TearCare® System compared to cyclosporine 0.05% (CsA) for the treatment of moderate to severe meibomian gland disease (MGD) associated dry eye disease (DED). The analysis, published ahead of print in Expert Review of Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research, demonstrated that TearCare is not only associated with greater health utility over time but also resulted in significant cost savings compared to CsA, offering a more efficient and patient-centric approach to treating this common ocular disease.

The analysis, conducted from a US healthcare payer perspective using a 1-year time horizon, revealed that TearCare resulted in lower per-patient annual costs ($4,916) and higher quality-adjusted life years (QALYs; 0.76) compared to CsA ($5,819 and 0.74 QALYs, respectively). This translated to per-patient annual cost savings of $903 and an incremental benefit of 0.014 QALYs.

"This cost-utility analysis confirms what many of us in clinical practice have observed," said Nathan Lighthizer, OD, FAAO, lead investigator of the study and Professor and Dean for the NSU Oklahoma College of Optometry. "TearCare not only improves patient outcomes but also represents a more economically sustainable approach to managing MGD-associated dry eye disease. The demonstrated cost savings of over $900 per patient per year are significant in our current healthcare environment."

Key Findings:

• Assuming two procedures over a 1-year time horizon, TearCare demonstrated a cost-saving advantage over CsA, reducing per-patient costs by $903 annually.
• Patients receiving TearCare experienced an incremental QALY gain of 0.014, compared to those on CsA.
• Scenario analyses confirmed the robustness of the results, showing that even when adjusting assumptions—such as the proportion of patients improving to a milder disease state—TearCare consistently delivered cost savings and greater QALY gains over CsA.

Posted In: SGHT