US-based LENZ Therapeutics has announced an exclusive licensing and commercialisation agreement with Lotus Pharmaceutical of Taiwan for the commercialisation of the former’s LNZ100, a presbyopia treatment, in the Republic of Korea and select Southeast Asian nations.

Under the contract, LENZ will obtain up to $125m in payments from Lotus, including upfront, regulatory, and commercial milestones, along with tiered, double-digit royalties on future net sales.

Lotus Pharmaceutical gains exclusive rights for the development, manufacturing, registration, and commercialisation of the therapy in the Republic of Korea and Southeast Asian nations such as Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted the new drug application (NDA) for the therapy to treat presbyopia last October, with a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) target action date set for 8 August 2025.

LNZ100 is a single-use, one-time-daily, preservative-free eye drop comprising aceclidine, and the therapy has been assessed in the Phase III CLARITY trial as a potential presbyopia treatment.

LENZ is focused on developing and commercialising the eye drop, which is aceclidine-based, for improving near vision in presbyopia patients.

LENZ Therapeutics CEO and president Eef Schimmelpennink said: “We are very excited to partner with the team at Lotus to bring LNZ100 to Southeast Asia, given their proven track record for successful global partnerships, robust commercial infrastructure in the region, and six consecutive years of double-digit revenue growth, now exceeding $500m.

“Upon approval, we look forward to the Lotus team bringing LNZ100 to this important and commercially attractive region. We are committed to partnering with leading commercial pharmaceutical companies ex-US, providing access to LNZ100 for patients worldwide.”

In June 2023, Lotus and Teraju Pharma entered a strategic collaboration for marketing Lotus’s products in a range of therapeutic areas in Malaysia.