Finacea is a topical rosacea treatment made by Intendis. Its main active ingredient is azelaic acid 15%. Officially, finacea “is a topical treatment for the inflammatory bumps and lesions of mild to moderate rosacea”.
Other topical and systemic treatments exist for the papules and pustules of rosacea, so finacea is not your only choice for treating these rosacea symptoms.
A 20% cream formulation of Azelaic Acid (Azelex, Allergan) and (Skinoren, Schering) has been marketed since 1996 for the treatment of acne.
In the last few years several papers have been published comparing finacea to other topicals, and most importanly for us, assessing finacea’s efficacy in treating some rosacea symptoms.
A 2003 article titled A Comparison of 15% Azelaic Acid Gel and 0.75% Metronidazole Gel in the Topical Treatment of Papulopustular Rosacea found that “Azelaic acid gel was superior to metronidazole gel in reduction of mean nominal lesion count and mean percent decrease in inflammatory lesions”. Neither treatment had a clinically appreciable effect on telangiectasia. Benefits from using metronidazole plateauxed after 8 weeks, but continued to be seen by those using azelaic acid.
This study showed azelaic acid was better than metronidazole, even more so than the 1999 study titled A comparison of topical azelaic acid 20% cream and topical metronidazole 0.75% cream in the treatment of patients with papulopustular rosacea. This 1999 study concluded that 20% azelaic acid cream was merely a safe and effective alternative to metronidazole 0.75%.
Another 2003 article titled Efficacy and safety of azelaic acid (15%) gel as a new treatment for papulopustular rosacea: Results from two vehicle-controlled, randomized phase III studies showed that 15% azelaic acid gel was significantly better at reducing papules and pustules than the vehicle gel (i.e. compared to a preparation without the active ingredient).
A followup paper in 2004 titled Azelaic Acid 15% Gel: In the Treatment of Papulopustular Rosacea summarized the 2 cited 2003 papers above. Additionally one can find published papers relating to azelaic acid and the treatment of perioral dermatitis and acne.
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With regards to treating the erythema (redness) of rosacea, only erythema in the presence of papules and pustules has been studied. Thus finacea’s affect on transient erythema is unknown.
Finacea is not suitable to those with a sensitivity to propylene glycol. About 20% of various trialists report mild side effects from using finacea, compared to 14% using just the vehicle gel. See the prescribing information for more warnings and safety usage information.
A 2004 paper titled Noxious sensory perceptions in patients with mild to moderate rosacea treated with azelaic acid 15% gel was unable to prove via the lactic acid facial sting test (and others) that azelaic acid caused increases in the senstivity of 40 mild to moderate rosacea sufferers.
A 2005 paper titled Cumulative irritation potential of metronidazole gel compared to azelaic acid gel after repeated applications to healthy skin found that when applied to healthy skin, metronidazole gel was less irritating than azelaic acid.
Finacea Coupons
From time to time Finacea offers discount coupons. Here is an offer to save $10 per prescription.
Is Finacea a Winner?
What has been your experience with Finacea ? Would you recommend it to other rosacea sufferers ? Feel free to leave a comment below.
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154 Comments over 4 pages ↓
I just received a prescription for Finacea today. However, it is going to be $180. I wanted to know if anyone has used the Finacea that comes from Australia. It seems to be a different name of company. However, I can get it for $60 shipped here to the US. I also do not want to throw away any more $.
Also, Please if anyone has any result testimonies for me I would appreciate it. I am just not sure that I know what to do. I have used Doxy and it does work for me, but the medicine is very regimented as far as time and not eating with it, etc. I also did not like the way it made me feel. I decided it was not worth it to take it. I tried a finacea sample for the last two week and I think that there is some improvement, but I am not sure…it could just be I am not flaring as bad. Any advice…
Thanks
There is an over the counter product in Australia called Azclear, made be a company called Ego. It’s 20% Azeleic acid and about $10 for a 25g tube. So far I’ve had good results and zero irritation, it’s actually very calming for me. I’m sure you can order it online from an Aussie pharmacy; sounds as though you’re being held ransom by the drug companies in the US. It’s really a very cheap product.
I live in Australia and 15% Finacea costs $26 per 30g tube, I buy mine from: (http://www.epharmacy.com.au/product.asp?id=49623&pname=Finacea+Acne+Gel+15%25+30g)
I’m not sure if there is any difference to the US one in terms of strength (might be more than 15%?). But the Aussie Finacea works perfectly for me. Since using it I don’t get any pustules which was the main concern for me. At first it made my skin very dry, but now it’s fine.
I only use it once a day. I still have some redness, but pustules/pimples are GONE.
I have mild to moderate rosacea and adult acne and my primary care doctor prescribed topical steroids but after seeing a dermatologist she recommended against long term use of topical steroids. I was reluctant to give up the only thing that seemed to keep the flare ups of pustules around and under my nose at bay but she was confident in Finacea. I am in my second week with it and I am very impressed with the results! I will say that for the first week it actually made it much worse (which they warned me about – they said it would draw eruptions to the surface and they were right) and there was significant drying even with the moisterizer that came with the Finacea (scaly and rough peeling patches). I also had some mild stinging and itchy feelings right after I applied it but that has also subsided as time goes on. But after about a week the eruptions receded and I am very happy with the results. I am hopeful that it will continue to improve and completely clear my skin. I highly recommend it – just be prepared for that initial phase.