Lenz Therapeutics announced Monday the launch of a new telehealth prescribing option for its aceclidine eye drop Vizz to improve patient access to the medication.
Consumers can use VIZZ.com, an integrated telehealth platform, to fill out an online medical history form and then connect with an independent network of eye care professionals to determine eligibility based on their medical history. Vizz prescriptions are automatically routed and fulfilled by the pharmaceutical company’s e-pharmacy partner. The telehealth visit costs consumers $35, according to investment bank Leerink Partners in a flash note.
Vizz is a 1.44% aceclidine solution used to treat presbyopia in adults, which is a variation of farsightedness that is usually characterized as age-related blurry near vision. It earned U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in August, Fierce Pharma reported.
The pharma company plans to promote the new telehealth offering alongside a national television advertising campaign starring Sarah Jessica Parker.
Parker first teamed up with the company in January with its “Make It Vizzable” campaign, Fierce Pharma Marketing reported.
Lenz Therapeutics President and CEO Eef Schimmelpennink said in a statement the company’s goal is to make Vizz access “as seamless and possible.”
“Vizz continues to deliver the real-world efficacy we expected, and a telehealth platform provides a convenient option for the majority of the 128 million Americans living with presbyopia who may not visit an eye doctor annually,” Schimmelpennink said. “Through the launch of this platform, we are removing a key hurdle to product access by providing consumers with a safe and convenient way to be evaluated by an independent licensed eye care professional online who can determine whether Vizz may be appropriate for them.”
Schimmelpennink said the company believes the combination of the new telehealth option and national television ad campaign will “help accelerate consumer awareness, access and adoption” of the solution.
According to investment bank Leerink Partners, Lenz' Vizz experienced a slower-than-expected commercial launch.
The company has faced two main hurdles, namely, integrating Vizz into eye care professionals' routine practice and consumer convenience, Leerink Partners' analysts wrote in a flash note. Eye doctors have little reason to proactively prescribe Vizz, while patients face friction from scheduling and attending an in-office appointments.
"Shifting to a more patient-driven telehealth Rx model addresses both challenges by removing the need for ECPs [eye care professionals] to offer Vizz and giving motivated patients a convenient way to seek out the product themselves. We think this is a more sustainable model given the success of other aesthetic Rx products offered via telehealth, including GLP-1s, acne medications, and hair growth agents," the analysts wrote.