Cantharidin: First Approval

Declarations

Funding The preparation of this review was not supported by any external funding.

Authorship and Conflict of interest During the peer review process the manufacturer of the agent under review was offered an opportunity to comment on the article. Changes resulting from any comments received were made by the authors on the basis of scientific completeness and accuracy. Susan J. Keam is a contracted employee of Adis International Ltd/Springer Nature, and declares no relevant conflicts of interest. All authors contributed to this article and are responsible for its content.

Ethics approval, Consent to participate, Consent to publish, Availability of data and material, Code availability  Not applicable.

Additional information about this Adis Drug Review can be found here. 

Abstract

Cantharidin (YCANTH™) is a proprietary drug-device combination product containing a formulation of cantharidin 0.7% topical solution (a vesicant naturally derived from blister beetles) delivered via a single-use applicator that has been developed by Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. for the treatment of molluscum contagiosum and is also being developed for the treatment of warts. In July 2023, YCANTH™ (cantharidin 0.7% topical solution) was approved for the topical treatment of molluscum contagiosum in adult and pediatric patients 2 years of age and older in the USA. This article summarizes the milestones in the development of cantharidin 0.7% topical solution leading to this first approval for the topical treatment of molluscum contagiosum in adult and pediatric patients 2 years of age and older.

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023