oracea plus metrogel, better than 100mg doxycycline plus metrogel ?

A clinical trial, sponsored by CollaGenex, is recruiting patients to see how Oracea compares to doxycycline (100mg once a day) when combined with metrogel 1%.

We can see from a Collagenex annual report that COL-101 was the name for Periostat MR, which then became Oracea.

Safety and Efficacy Study to Compare Two Rosacea Treatment Regimens

Purpose: To compare the safety and efficacy of two treatment regimens: 1) COL-101 and metronidazole gel 1%; 2) Doxycycline hyclate 100 mg and metronidazole gel 1%

Official Title: A Clinical Trial to Determine the Effects of COL-101 Administered Once Daily With Metronidazole Topical Gel, 1% Versus Doxycycline Hyclate 100 mg Administered Once Daily With Metronidazole Topical Gel, 1% in Patients With Moderate to Severe Rosacea

This trial follows on from a 2005 paper that studied the combination of periostat and metrogel. That study concluded that combining sub antibiotic dose doxycycline with metrogel 0.75% was better than metrogel on its own.

Combining a systemic antibiotic with metronidazole has been the mainstay of rosacea treatment for several years. What we are seeing here is updates to studies since the introduction of oracea and metrogel 1%.