EMERYVILLE, Calif.—Biopharmaceutical company, NovaBay Pharmaceuticals, Inc.(NYSE MKT: NBY) has signed a distribution agreement with Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH). Effective immediately, the agreement is for Cardinal Health to carry and distribute NovaBay’s Avenova, a prescription lid and lash hygiene product for the lid hygiene management of eye conditions such as blepharitis, Meibomian gland dysfunction and associated dry eye, to independent and retail chain pharmacies.

Combined with NovaBay’s previous distribution agreements with McKesson Corporation (NYSE: MCK) and Vision Source,  Avenova will now be available to more than 90 percent of the nation’s 67,000 retail pharmacies and to thousands of optometrists’ offices across the country.

“We are pleased to expand our distribution network for Avenova with Cardinal Health,” said Dr. Ron Najafi, chairman and CEO of NovaBay. “Our agreement with Cardinal Health will make our sales team even more effective by making Avenova available to virtually every patient and support our commercialization efforts for this product. We began promoting Avenova with only a limited number of medical representatives late last year. We are still early in the launch and expect to report modest but growing initial revenues for Avenova until mid to late 2015, when the full productivity of our expanded sales organization will begin to become evident.”

Glenn Moro, vice president of sales and marketing for NovaBay, said, “We are currently launching a major marketing effort for Avenova with a dedicated field force of medical representatives who will be calling on optometrists and ophthalmologists. By early February, we will have 35 representatives in the field educating eyecare professionals about the benefits of the product.”

Avenova is the only eyecare product to contain Neutrox, NovaBay’s proprietary pure hypochlorous acid. “Eye doctors are also using Avenova in the management of dry eye syndrome as well as a routine preparation for cataract and other eye surgeries as part of their lid hygiene regimen,” said Dr. Najafi. “Neutrox does not have the risks of bacterial resistance or side effects that are associated with traditional antibiotics or steroids.”