WATERTOWN, Mass.—EyePoint Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:EYPT), a specialty biopharmaceutical company working to develop innovative ophthalmic products, reported Wednesday that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved transitional pass-through status and reimbursement through a C-code for Dexycu (dexamethasone intraocular suspension) 9%. Dexycu is an FDA-approved product for treating postoperative inflammation. It is administered as a single intraocular dose at the end of ocular surgery, according to EyePoint’s announcement. The code, C9034, will become effective Oct. 1, 2018, the company said.

“The receipt of pass-through status and the assignment of a C-code from CMS marks another important step forward in our commercialization preparation for Dexycu,” EyePoint president and chief executive officer Nancy Lurker said in the announcement. “Our team continues to make progress on our commercialization strategy, hiring and scale-up initiatives in support of our planned commercial launch expected in the first half of 2019. We believe Dexycu has the potential to address the unmet need and limitations of steroid drops, the current standard of care available for patients to treat inflammation following eye surgery.”

Approximately 40 percent of patients who undergo cataract surgery are covered by Medicare Part B, the company noted in its announcement. Drugs that are administered as part of the cataract surgery procedure can be covered under a CMS administered transitional-pass-through payment. The pass-through payment was established by the U.S. government to help foster innovative drug development.