Did you know that with the passage of time our sight fails more and more? However, there is a new prescription eye drop approved by the U.S. that promises to help reduce dependency on reading glasses for several hours a day. This treatment is called Yuvezzi, it has been developed by the company Tenpoint Therapeutics, and it has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It’s designed to treat presbyopia, a sight issue that appears in a natural way with the passage of time. So, let’s talk a bit more about this.
FDA approved the new eye drops
The FDA has approved Yuvezzi as a treatment for presbyopia in adults. Yuvezzi is a combination of two known medicines:
- Carbachol: this makes the pupil smaller. When the pupil shrinks, it creates what doctors call a “pinhole effect,” which increases depth of focus, similar to how a camera improves sharpness by narrowing its aperture. As a result, near objects appear clearer.
- Brimonidine tartrate: this helps prevent the pupil from widening too quickly again. It may also reduce redness and muscle spasms that older drops sometimes caused.
According to clinical data, near vision improvement can begin about 30 minutes after applying the drops and may last between eight and ten hours in many patients. The treatment involves placing one drop in each eye once daily.
Presbyopia
This is not a disease, it’s a natural stage of aging. As time goes by, the natural lens in the eye called the crystalline lens becomes more rigid and, when we are young, that lens changes its shape very easily to help us focus on objects that are near or far. However, as we age, the lens becomes stiffer and cannot adjust as easily. So, when that happens:
- Small print becomes blurry.
- More light is needed to read.
- People hold menus or phones farther away to see clearly.
About 2 billion people in the entire world have presbyopia and it’s expected this number to become higher as the population is older.
Clinical trials results
The FDA approval was based on two Phase 3 studies called BRIO I and BRIO II. In total, more than 800 adults with presbyopia took part in these clinical trials.
One of the studies compared the whole combination to each one of the medicines used separately. The other one compared Yuvezzi to a placebo (a drop without active medication) and followed patients for up to twelve months. Across more than 72,000 treatment days, no serious treatment-related adverse events were reported.
In one of the studies, a significant portion of participants improved by at least three lines on a standard near vision eye chart under low-light conditions. Importantly, this improvement occurred without reducing distance vision clarity.
It’s also important to mention the most common side effects patients experienced:
- Temporary eye pain when applying the drop.
- Mild irritation.
- Short visual disturbances.
- Headache.
When it comes to eye redness, about 2.8% of patients taking Yuvezzi experienced this, which is higher than the 10.7% of those who only took carbachol.
How this eye drop was compared to other treatments
Yuvezzi is not the first prescribed eye drop approved for presbyopia in the U.S. Vuity, marketed by AbbVie, was the first FDA-approved miotic drop for presbyopia. Then, another product, Vizz, was developed by LENZ Therapeutics.
All of these treatments work on the same basic principle: shrinking the pupil to improve near focus. However, what makes Yuvezzi different is its fixed combination formula and simple once-daily schedule. It requires only one drop per eye per day and does not require refrigeration, according to available information.
Pricing has not yet been officially announced. However, similar presbyopia drops in the United States typically cost between $70 and $100 per month, depending on pharmacy and insurance coverage.
So…
For millions of people who struggle with small print, menus, or phone screens, this new FDA-approved treatment expands the available choices beyond glasses, contact lenses, or surgery.