A week before Tarsus Pharmaceuticals received federal approval for its groundbreaking treatment of an eyelid inflammation that impacts 25 million Americans, CEO Bobak “Bobby” Azamian welcomed his first child into the world.
“It was the most exciting week of my life in two different ways,” Azamian told the Business Journal.
It’s since been a whirlwind year and a half since for the father and chief executive.
Under the leadership of Azamian, Tarsus has emerged as a leading biotech innovator in Orange County. He has spearheaded the development and commercialization of Xdemvy, the first Food and Drug Administration-approved treatment for Demodex blepharitis, an inflammation of the eyelids caused by mites.
Since receiving FDA approval in mid-2023, shares of the Irvine
biopharmaceutical company have nearly tripled to $55.74 apiece with a market cap of $2.1 billion – up from $531 million in fall 2023.
“We’ve been successful because we’ve been able to find the ‘white space’ in healthcare – we identified an area of significant unmet need and worked across channels to prepare and educate the market, understand the patient experience and demonstrate value, and drive awareness and interest in our company and brand,” Azamian told the Business Journal.
Since its launch, Xdemvy has exceeded company expectations, with robust quarter-over-quarter sales growth and increased reach among eye care providers.
Sales are expected to soar 80% to $315 million this year, according to the average estimate of seven analysts.
Looking to be a leading player in the OC healthcare space, Tarsus recently disclosed plans to double its office space in Irvine by relocating to a new 60,000-square-foot corporate headquarters at Spectrum Terrace.
“We’ve just found this an incredible place to build a leading eye care pharmaceutical company, and we’re committed to that for the long run here in Orange County,” Azamian said.
For all these reasons, the Business Journal has named Azamian as Businessperson of the Year in Orange County’s healthcare industry. He joins two others who are playing a pivotal role in the ophthalmology industry: Thomas Burns at Glaukos Corp. and Ron Kurtz at RxSight Inc. Additionally, Gavin Herbert, the founder of Allergan, is receiving the Business Journal’s first ever Lifetime Business Achievement Award (see page 1 and elsewhere).
Inspired by Animals
Azamian calls Xdemvy’s journey serendipitous as the company’s research started by first looking at veterinary care.
When he and his co-founder Michael Ackermann began looking for the very best drug to treat the crusty eyelids caused by Demodex mites, they found that the “best chemistry” came from animal health.
It turns out Ackermann’s sister is a veterinary dermatologist. She told them that she didn’t see mange in dogs and cats anymore because they were being successfully treated by a new class of chemistry known as lotilaner, a pet-friendly antiparasitic molecule used to treat conditions like mange and ticks.
“And that’s when our ears perked up,” Azamian said. “It was truly unexpected that in trying to find a great drug to treat mites, we would find it from an animal health company.”
Tarsus knew it could leverage lotilaner for human use, so it moved quickly to license it from Swiss-based Elanco Tiergesundheit AG.
Tarsus eventually reformulated lotilaner for human use as a topical eye drop, known as TP-03, demonstrating efficacy in pivotal trials involving over 800 patients who saw significant improvements – with some patients seeing results as early as two weeks.
“It’s been an incredible story where we start with the biology, we start with the target and the disease, and then we find the best chemistry out there to treat the disease,” Azamian said.
Year-to-date, as of the third quarter, the company has delivered 104,400 bottles of Xdemvy to patients compared to 1,700 bottles delivered in the prior year period.
Azamian is proud that Tarsus has been able to negotiate a price point with payers such as Medicare that is affordable for patients. Most patients pay $50 or less for Xdemvy.
“It’s been a priority for me, for our entire commercial and executive team, to have a drug that’s accessible to all the patients that need it,” he said.
Expanding Beyond Eye Treatments
As the company grows, Azamian said Tarsus is committed to seeking opportunities “where we can make the greatest impact in the healthcare industry and most importantly, to patients.”
Tarsus, for example, is leveraging lotilaner as a “pipeline in a product” to address other conditions, including meibomian gland disease (MGD), rosacea and Lyme disease.
Azamian said Tarsus is “just scratching the surface of what we can ultimately do” with lotilaner. Recent data presented by Tarsus showed its potential to improve symptoms of MGD in patients with Demodex blepharitis and MGD, such as fluctuating vision and redness, marking another significant milestone.
The company is also advancing Phase 2 studies for a topical rosacea treatment and an oral tablet developed for preventing Lyme disease, with promising updates anticipated this year. “We expect to announce some progress with the FDA in the early part of 2025,” he said.
Tarsus Relocating to New HQ in 2026
Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, which has more than 100 of its 331 employees in Orange County, has plans to double its office space in Irvine by relocating to a new 60,000-square-foot corporate headquarters at Spectrum Terrace.
Last month, the company entered an agreement with property owner Irvine Company to lease about 59,626 square feet of office space at 17700 Laguna Canyon Road in Irvine. Monthly rent starts at $211,672.30 during the first year, or $3.55 PSF, according to a regulatory filing.
Moving its headquarters to a larger space underscores the company’s goals to expand its talent pool and become one of the leaders in eye care.
“With Xdemvy launch, we are considered a leading eye care company, and we want to build a lasting company in Orange County,” CEO and Chairman Bobak “Bobby” Azamian told the Business Journal in a Jan. 6 interview. “So that’s why we signed that lease on a space that will allow us to expand, that will allow us to collaborate in even better ways, and really sets us up for long term success in Orange County.”
Azamian called the Spectrum Terrace location a “state of the art” space.
“There’s incredible team and collaborative facilities on site,” he said. “It also has a great footprint for collaboration within the space. So, we’ve got two floors, 30,000 square feet each, that will really allow us to work as a team in ways we haven’t been able to even in our current great space.”
Azamian is targeting early 2026 for relocating the Tarsus HQ from its current space at 15440 Laguna Canyon Road.
Creating a ‘Mitey’ Culture
While Tarsus’ work is serious, the company’s first direct-to-consumer ad campaign for Xdemvy clearly demonstrates that company officials are having a bit of fun along the way.
In October, Tarsus Pharmaceuticals launched a TV commercial to promote Xdemvy.
The humorous “Your Mitey Problem” ad, which recently aired during this month’s Golden Globes show, features humans dressed as Demodex mites. The uninvited eyelid squatters are shown dancing on a woman’s eyelid, causing redness and inflammation.
The narrator says, “Got eyelid itching, crusties and swelling that won’t go away? It could be …”
Then, a “Demodex mite” jumps on screen to declare that he is the culprit.
“We’re very common and super irritating to your eyelids. But we love making ourselves comfortable here,” the mite says.
The commercial goes on to say that Xdemvy, with one drop in each eye twice a day, can kill the mites in just six weeks.
“We like to do things differently at Tarsus, just because we like that,” CEO Bobak “Bobby” Azamian said.
While it’s still early days, the ad has resonated with consumers.
“We’re really encouraged by what we’re hearing, what we’re seeing in our metrics, and we expect that [ad] to really reach millions of patients this year – and that’s our mission: to serve millions of patients.”
