In this episode of Inside Intrepid, Mark Schaeffer, OD, FAAO, Jade Coats, OD, FAAO, Janelle Davison, OD, and Adam Ramsey, OD, discuss how direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising is driving patient awareness of presbyopia eye drops, like VUITY.
The doctors explain how ads are increasing foot traffic in some areas and offer tips on discussing these products with your patients and setting realistic expectations.
“My dad, who’s in his 70s, was watching a morning show and heard about VUITY and came to me and said ‘what is this?’”
Dr. Schaeffer is Clinical Excellence Captain at MyEyeDr in Birmingham, Alabama; Dr. Coats works at Exclusive Eye in Fayetteville, Arkansas; Dr. Davison operates two practices in Metro Atlanta; and Dr. Ramsey owns Socialite Vision in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
DTC advertising for presbyopia drops fast facts
- More than 128 million Americans have presbyopia, including 95% of adults 45 and older.1
- The FDA approved VUITY in 2021 as the first prescription eye drop designed specifically to treat presbyopia. Four presbyopia eye drops are now available, with a fifth (RYZUMVI) that was just FDA approved in October 2026.2
- After the FDA approved VUITY and DTC advertising began, online search interest jumped to 74% compared with just 0.005% before approval.3
- DTC advertising can introduce patients to prescription treatments they haven’t heard of before, presenting an opportunity for optometrists to grow their practices.
- Presbyopia drops offer another alternative to contacts and glasses, which is great news, since 65% of optometrists say their presbyopic patients are disappointed at the thought of wearing reading glasses.4
How do presbyopia drops compare?
Until recently, people with presbyopia typically relied on glasses or contact lenses to improve their vision. But the FDA approval of presbyopia eye drop VUITY in 2021 changed things. Now, three other presbyopia eye drops are widely available—YUVEZZI, QLOSI, and VIZZ—and a fourth (RYZUMVI) was approved just last month on October 16, 2026. Each drop has both similarities and differences that may influence prescribing protocols.
Presbyopia pharmacologic drop comparison table5-17
| Product | YUVEZZI | VUITY | QLOSI | VIZZ | PHENTOLAMINE 0.75% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Developer | Tenpoint Therapeutics | AbbVie | Orasis Pharmaceuticals | LENZ Therapeutics | Opus Genetics |
| Approval Date | FDA approved 2026 | FDA approved 2021 | FDA approved 2023 | FDA approved 2025 | FDA approved 2026; original approval in 2023 |
| Primary Mechanism | Cholinergic agonist + alpha-2 agonist | Nonselective muscarinic agonist | Low-dose muscarinic agonist | Pupil-selective muscarinic agonist | Alpha-adrenergic antagonist |
| Primary Physiologic Effect | Sustained miosis | Miosis + accommodative spasm | Mild miosis | Predominantly miosis | Pupil modulation |
| "Pinhole" Effect | Strong | Strong | Moderate | Strong | Mild-moderate |
| Ciliary Body Stimulation | Moderate | Significant | Mild-Moderate | Reduced vs. pilocarpine | Minimal |
| Typical Dosing | QD | QD | BID PRN | QD | Trials studied once-daily evening regimen |
| Onset of Action | ~30 min | ~15–30 min | ~20–30 min | ~30 min | Not yet characterized in label |
| Approximate Duration | Up to 8 hours | ~6 hours | ~5–6 hours | Up to ~10 hours | Not yet characterized in label |
| Near VA Improvement | Good | Moderate-good | Mild-moderate | Good-excellect | Mild |
| Distance Blur Risk | Moderate | Moderate | Lower | Lower | Low |
| Headache/Brow Ache | Moderate | Common | Less common | Lower reported rates | Low |
| Night Vision Complaints | Unknown | Common in some patients | Less common | Potentially improved vs. pilocarpine | Likely lower |
| Preservative-Free | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Best Responder Profile | Patients wanting longer duration | Early presbyopes/emmetropes | Mild presbyopes, dry eye patients | Motivated spectacle-reduction patients | Comfort-sensitive patients |
| Major Theoretical Advantage | Longer duration synergy | Strong efficacy | Better tolerability | Ciliary-sparing miosis | Minimal accommodative spasm |
| Major Concern | Combination tolerability | Headache, retinal traction concern | Weaker efficacy | Long-term safety unknowns | Smaller efficacy effect |
| Potential Future Role | Premium next-gen combo | Occasional-use therapy | Comfort-first alternative | Potential category leader | Niche early-presbyope option |
Advertising approaches among these products
All four marketed drops promise the same thing: less reliance on readers. The campaigns differ in whom they target, what they emphasize, and where they send interested patients.
YUVEZZI
Tenpoint launched its consumer campaign in July 2026. It is anchored by a 60-second online video in which everyday objects become singing animatronic puppets, including reading glasses, a restaurant menu, and a book.18
The campaign runs on connected TV, paid social, display, out-of-home, and point-of-care placements. Chief commercial officer Carol Kearney describes the goal as building category and brand awareness and driving patients to an eye doctor.18
All of the creative directs viewers to YuvezziToday.com, which includes a tool for finding a prescribing doctor. Tenpoint will track results through quarterly awareness studies and a 2027 marketing mix analysis. The central product message is that YUVEZZI is the only once-daily presbyopia drop with two active ingredients.18
VUITY
AbbVie began airing VUITY’s first TV commercial about 4 months after approval.19 In the spot, glasses-wearing actors react "Wait, what?" to the idea of an eye drop for near vision,18 so it sold the category as much as the brand. AbbVie spent $5.8 million on more than 1,600 airings early in the campaign.19
VUITY’s TV ads drove 3.43 million searches in the first half of 2022, more than double the next pharmaceutical campaign.20 Google Trends data show search interest rose after approval and rose again once advertising began.3
QLOSI
Orasis's consumer campaign is titled "Readers in a Drop."18 The company reported that its DTC campaigns generated more than 1 million clicks from people seeking information about QLOSI in 2025.13
The rest of the strategy runs through the eyecare professional (ECP). Starter packs go to prescribers for distribution, each containing 10 single-use vials (two daily doses for 5 days), a patient progress tracker, and a referral card.13
In July 2026, Orasis added a free first fill through BlinkRx and in-office dispensing where state law allows. The company stated it built QLOSI around ECPs rather than a direct-to-patient telehealth pathway, and it reported a 49% refill rate.21
VIZZ
LENZ launched "Make it VIZZable" in January 2026 with Sarah Jessica Parker as brand ambassador. The spots show her in New York City reading text messages, scanning price tags, and reviewing scripts without reading glasses.22 Before the consumer launch, LENZ focused on ECPs, and awareness among surveyed ECPs reached 90% by October 2025.23
Management reported that the DTC campaign increased web traffic about fivefold. It also cautioned that pharmaceutical DTC typically takes at least two quarters to affect prescriptions.24 In July 2026, LENZ added a telehealth prescribing option, promoted through a national TV campaign featuring Parker.25 This puts its access strategy in direct contrast with Orasis' ECP-only approach.
RYZUMVI
Phentolamine 0.75% has no presbyopia consumer campaign because the indication only recently (October 2026) received FDA approval. Viatris holds exclusive US commercialization rights.17
Using product awareness as an opportunity to discuss your patient’s lifestyles
DTC advertising has done a great job of increasing awareness of presbyopia drops, but the doctors emphasized the conversation shouldn’t stop there. To determine whether your patients will benefit, it’s important to ask about their lifestyle and how their problems with near-vision affect their daily routine.
As a former optician, Dr. Coats says she tends to focus on daily activities and whether glasses or contacts are meeting a patient’s needs. She starts by asking a simple question, “Is there anything that you’re doing, any hobby, where you feel like your glasses or contacts are inadequate?”
Dr. Ramsey encourages patients to picture the little things in their life where improved near-vision would make things better or easier. For instance, he asks his patients if they’d like to be able to go out on a dinner date without having to wear glasses to read the menu or play golf and be able to see the scorecard clearly.
“I would call it lifestyle prescribing. [It’s important to realize] that [presbyopia drops] are task-specific. The same way you have shoes for different tasks, I'm giving you a visual prescription for different tasks, and when you're doing these tasks, this is a great solution for you.”
In closing
DTC advertising is making patients more aware of presbyopia drops and increasing the need for clinicians to be well-informed on the options.
“If the doctor never discusses presbyopia drops and the patient only hears about them online, they may wonder, ‘Why didn’t my doctor tell me about this?’”
By asking about your patients’ lifestyles and needs, you can determine if presbyopia drops can supplement your current treatment strategy and set expectations about how they may or may not help them.
Perhaps most importantly, educating yourself about presbyopia drops can establish you as a trusted source of information as more people encounter these treatments outside the exam room.
