Federal approval granted for VIZZ eye drops, delivering up to ten hours of enhanced near vision clarity
A groundbreaking moment in eye care innovation has been achieved with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approving a new eye drop called VIZZ, developed by LENZ Therapeutics. This approval marks a significant step forward, offering a convenient, non-invasive alternative to reading glasses for millions of people who struggle with presbyopia, an age-related difficulty focusing on close objects.
VIZZ works by gently contracting the iris sphincter muscle, creating a pinhole effect that increases the eye's depth of focus. This pinhole effect, similar to how squinting improves focus by reducing peripheral light rays entering the eye, effectively sharpens near vision without altering the eye’s focusing power or causing a myopic shift.
The active ingredient in VIZZ is aceclidine, a cholinergic muscarinic receptor agonist. It selectively stimulates muscarinic receptors on the iris muscle with minimal stimulation of the ciliary muscle, thus avoiding inducing a myopic shift, a side effect that some older treatments had.
The effects of VIZZ are noticeable within 30 minutes and last up to 10 hours, allowing for a full day of improved near vision with a single dose. Results from three Phase 3 clinical trials involving over 680 participants show that VIZZ consistently helped patients read smaller print and perform close-up tasks with ease.
The safety of VIZZ was a key focus during testing. Across more than 30,000 treatment days, no serious adverse events were reported. Side effects, when they occur, are generally mild and include eye irritation, dim vision, and headache, resolving without intervention in most cases.
With the FDA approval in July 2025, VIZZ becomes the first FDA-approved aceclidine-based eye drop for presbyopia, offering a non-surgical, once-daily treatment to improve near vision by enhancing the eye’s inherent focusing ability through pupil constriction alone. VIZZ is expected to hit the market in late 2025, providing a much-needed solution for the over 128 million adults in the U.S. affected by presbyopia.
The new eye drop VIZZ, developed by LENZ Therapeutics, targets medical-conditions such as presbyopia through science, offering a health-and-wellness alternative to reading glasses. In clinical trials, VIZZ has consistently helped patients with presbyopia read smaller print and perform close-up tasks with ease, lasting up to 10 hours with minimal side effects.
