The complex machinery required to take a drug through development and regulatory approval can be as arduous as the discovery of the molecule itself. In recent times the demand for COVID-19 drugs has added to the pressure to expedite this process in record time and several organizations working in the small molecule arena have met

Yesterday I glanced through the list of drugs approved by the FDA in Q2 2023. One in particular, Miebo,1 -developed by Bausch and Lomb- made me sit up and stare. The compound is a partially fluorinated alkane (1-(Perfluorohexyl)octane, Figure 1) and is administered directly into the eye as a neat, anhydrous liquid to treat dry