South Korea is moving closer to introducing prescription eye drops for presbyopia, drawing growing attention as a non-surgical alternative to glasses, contact lenses and procedures. With convenience a key selling point, early competition is expected to sharpen as more products near launch.
According to market research firm Expert Market Research’s “South Korea Myopia and Presbyopia Treatment Market Report and Forecast,” the country’s myopia and presbyopia treatment market is projected to grow from $631.63 million in 2025 to $1.24251 billion in 2035. The report cited a younger onset age for presbyopia as expanding the potential patient pool.
Presbyopia eye drops work by constricting the pupil to create a “pinhole effect,” improving near vision and depth of focus. In the United States, four products have been approved since AbbVie’s Vuity in 2021: Orasis Pharmaceuticals’ Qlosi, Lenz Therapeutics’ Vizz, and Tenpoint Therapeutics’ Uvage. Of those, the three products other than Vuity are effectively within sight of entering the South Korean market.
Vuity benefited from a first-mover advantage in the U.S., but headaches and eye redness, along with a short duration of about three to four hours, have been cited as drawbacks. Uvage, Qlosi and Vizz are not new-mechanism drugs; they recombine or refine existing ingredients, focusing on improving duration and side effects. As a result, analysts say commercialization capabilities, more than differences in efficacy, may determine winners.
Kwangdong Pharmaceutical holds exclusive rights in South Korea for Uvage, which received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval this month. The company said it applied for approval with South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in September last year, and expects the domestic review to pick up speed.
A Kwangdong Pharmaceutical official said the company is fostering ophthalmology as a next growth engine, citing pediatric myopia drug candidate NVK002, ophthalmic rare-disease treatment Lacson, and retinitis pigmentosa candidate OCU400. The official said it plans to strengthen its position by using a sales network built through its existing eye-care business.
Optus Pharmaceutical, a subsidiary of Samchundang Pharmaceutical, signed an exclusive domestic license and supply agreement with U.S.-based Orasis Pharmaceuticals in September 2024 for Qlosi and is preparing to launch Qlosi 0.4% within this year. With single-use eye-drop manufacturing infrastructure and expertise in ophthalmic drugs, the company is seen as well positioned to expand early prescriptions after entering the market.
Taiwan’s Lotus Pharmaceutical signed an exclusive license with Lenz Therapeutics for commercialization rights to Vizz in South Korea and parts of Southeast Asia, and applied in December last year for new-drug approval from South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. In South Korea, the pace of market entry is expected to depend on the sales infrastructure of Lotus subsidiary Alvogen Korea, and how quickly it can expand a sales network focused on obesity and women’s health into ophthalmology.
In the United States, presbyopia eye drops sell for about 100,000 won for a month’s supply, or 25 doses. In South Korea, the products are likely to launch outside insurance coverage, raising the possibility of price competition, but safety is also expected to be central to early market leadership. Jeong Yoon-taek, head of the Korea Pharmaceutical Industry Strategy Research Institute, said price resistance is likely, but an image of “low side effects” could become important. He added that companies may also need strategies that emphasize the products’ lifestyle-drug nature for temporary needs depending on time, place and situation.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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