Everest Medicines takes China rights to LENZ's approved presbyopia drop VIZZ
NMPA approval of aceclidine drop LNZ100 in China is anticipated in Q1 2027, resting on the same Phase 3 program that already won U.S. approval, not a new efficacy bar.
Executive Summary
- Everest Medicines has taken over the China development and commercialization rights to LENZ Therapeutics' approved presbyopia eye drop, with the pending NMPA decision now sitting on Everest's execution rather than the original licensee's.
- Because the drug already holds U.S. approval on the same clinical program, the Chinese filing tests replication of an established result rather than a novel efficacy question.
- The pivotal Chinese trial completed enrollment to its target with a clean status progression, leaving disclosure timing rather than trial execution as the main open variable ahead of the anticipated decision window.
- The drug remains the only Phase 3 asset targeting the M3 muscarinic receptor in presbyopia, so its regulatory path in China carries no in-class precedent to benchmark against.
The transaction
Everest Medicines entered an Asset Purchase Agreement with Corxel Pharmaceuticals to acquire the rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize VIZZ (LNZ100) across Chinese mainland, Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR, and Taiwan, LENZ Therapeutics announced on June 7, 2026. Everest will assume the rights and obligations under the license Corxel signed with LENZ in April 2022. LENZ is eligible for up to $85.0 million in remaining regulatory and sales milestones, plus tiered royalties on net sales in the region, and becomes eligible for additional payments tied to the Everest-Corxel agreement itself. LENZLENZ Therapeutics Announces Everest Medicines Acquired Rights to Develop and Commercialize ...Jun 7, 2026
Probability of SuccessBased on the AppliedXL Probability of Success model. For more information about the methodology, read the research here.
The regulatory stake
Corxel submitted the New Drug Application for LNZ100 to the Center for Drug Evaluation of China's National Medical Products Administration in September 2025, with approval anticipated in the first quarter of 2027. LENZ Therapeutics Chairman Yifang Wu's counterpart at Everest, in the announcement, called LNZ100 "a differentiated asset with clinical value and commercial potential in the treatment of presbyopia". VIZZ (aceclidine ophthalmic solution 1.44%) is already approved by the FDA for presbyopia in the United States, so the NMPA review rests on reproducing a result the drug has already delivered to one regulator rather than clearing a fresh efficacy bar. LENZLENZ Therapeutics Announces Everest Medicines Acquired Rights to Develop and Commercialize ...Jun 7, 2026
The pivotal trial
The Chinese registrational study, NCT06045299, is a Phase 3 trial testing best-corrected distance visual acuity at 40 cm as its primary endpoint in 300 adults with presbyopia, randomized across two active arms and a placebo comparator. Enrollment reached its target of 300 patients and the trial moved cleanly from recruiting to active-not-recruiting in September 2024 to completed in March 2025, with two administrative adjustments to the primary completion date, from July 31 to September 15, 2024, and then to August 19, 2024, before the study closed. The registry shows no enrollment change and no endpoint amendment after completion. NCT06045299Evaluation of the Efficacy and Safety of LNZ101 and LNZ100 for the PresbyopiaNCT06045299
The competitive frame
No other industry trial pairs the M3 muscarinic receptor mechanism with presbyopia at Phase 3; the nearest comparators are LENZ's own earlier LNZ100/LNZ101 studies, while presbyopia programs from other sponsors, including alpha-1 adrenergic agents from Ocuphire Pharma and a device-based system from VIS, Inc., work through different mechanisms entirely. That leaves the NMPA decision without an in-class regulatory precedent in China, though the drug's U.S. approval on the same aceclidine-brimonidine combination gives the agency an existing efficacy and safety record to evaluate against. NCT06045299Evaluation of the Efficacy and Safety of LNZ101 and LNZ100 for the PresbyopiaNCT06045299
This analysis was produced using AI-assisted reporting systems, AppliedXL data, and official public records. These systems undergo editorial review, quality checks, and regular audits by human experts. Errors may still occur, as with any automated system. Always consult the linked primary sources. Read our AI Editorial Policy.