EMERYVILLE, Calif.—NovaBay Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NYSE American: NBY) announced Monday that it will begin selling eyecare product Avenova directly to consumers via a new Avenova Direct program on Amazon.com. Avenova, which is formulated with a proprietary, stable and pure form of hypochlorous acid, is designed for the removal of bacteria and debris on and around the eyelid margin that contribute to bacterial eye infections, which represent approximately 85 percent of the dry eye market, according to the announcement.

Previously, Avenova was primarily marketed to optometrists and ophthalmologists throughout the U.S. by the company’s direct salesforce. A spokeswoman told VMAIL that because Avenova received clearance from the FDA through the 510k device pathway the company has "the option to sell it as an over-the-counter product" so it can be sold to consumers without a prescription.

Avenova Direct is available from Amazon in the U.S. in a 20ml size ($29.99), while the prescription product is sold in a 40ml size. The Avenova Direct page on Amazon.com is available here.

“Patients throughout the U.S. can now purchase Avenova Direct without a prescription in Avenova’s original prescription formulation,” interim president and chief executive officer Justin Hall said in the announcement. “For many years, the bacterial microorganisms that are the underlying cause of the vast majority of dry eye cases were almost impossible to manage. Avenova Direct effectively manages bacterial dry eye through our pure 0.1% hypochlorous acid formulation in saline, which is free from bleach, surfactants and other impurities.”

Prescription Avenova will continue to be available through retail pharmacies and direct in-office sales, the announcement noted. The company also said that the new direct-to-consumer channel “further provides NovaBay with set pricing that is not impacted by the current health plan reimbursement environment.”

In addition, the announcement noted that the launch of NovaBay’s direct-to-consumer channel is supported by Avenova’s existing brand awareness campaign, which is being conducted using an online promotional strategy that includes search engine optimization, Google Ads and Amazon promotions using searchable keywords, among other tactics.