What the trials found
Updated — new results
For clinicians
Rosacea: what the trials found
Ivermectin has demonstrated significant efficacy in reducing inflammatory lesion counts, with one study showing a reduction of approximately 73% to 80% at week 12 3 and another reporting mean reductions exceeding 55% 16. Additionally, ivermectin was evaluated in early-phase trials 1.
Brimonidine (including 0.33% gel formulations) has shown clinical utility for managing symptoms; it achieved a success rate of 53% on the Investigator's Global Assessment scale 7 and significantly improved patient satisfaction scores compared to placebo 11. Brimonidine also demonstrated significant treatment success rates at various time points in Phase 3 trials 21.
Azelaic acid (including foam formulations) consistently reduces inflammatory lesion counts, with reductions ranging from approximately 49% to 69% across multiple studies [19, 20, 22]. Specifically, generic azelaic acid foam showed a statistically significant reduction in papules and pustules at week 12 22.
Oxymetazoline hydrochloride was shown to improve clinical erythema; one study reported success rates of up to 78% for patients achieving a 2-grade improvement on the Clinician Erythema Assessment scale 15. Other studies noted improvements in erythema scores and low rates of serious adverse events with oxymetazoline [4, 17].
Doxycycline was evaluated as a monotherapy; while some trials showed significant responder numbers at endpoints 10, other data indicated varying levels of improvement in Investigator's Global Assessment (IGA) and Clinician's Erythema Assessment (CEA) scores [8, 9].
Omiganan (CLS001) demonstrated statistically significant reductions in inflammatory lesion counts and a higher percentage of patients achieving a 2-grade IGA reduction compared to placebo in one trial 13, though results were not statistically significant in another study 14.
Recent results — preliminary, needs further review
- Ivermectin was evaluated in a Phase 2 trial (N=30) as a new intervention for the condition 1.
For the clinician treating this condition
- Ivermectin and Azelaic acid are established options for reducing inflammatory lesion counts, with both showing substantial percentage reductions from baseline [3, 16, 19, 20, 22].
- Brimonidine is an established option for managing facial redness and improving patient satisfaction scores [11, 21].
- Oxymetazoline hydrochloride can be utilized to improve clinical erythema scores [15, 17].
- Omiganan (CLS001) shows evidence of reducing inflammatory lesion counts, though results across trials were not consistent in significance [13, 14].
AI synthesis of 11 cited trials,
updated Jun 29, 2026.
Informational only — not medical advice; trial data sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov.
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