13 November 2025
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has approved Ryjunea for slowing myopia progression.
It is the first time the MHRA has approved a low-dose atropine eye drop for myopia control.
Ryjunea has been cleared for use in children aged between three and 14, with a progression rate of 0.5 D or more per year and a severity of -0.5 D to -6.0 D.
The MHRA approval follows authorisation of Ryjunea by the European Commission for myopia control in June.
Professor Annegret Dahlmann-Noor, a consultant ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital, highlighted that childhood myopia increases the risk of eye disease later in life.
“We have a critical window in childhood to recognise myopia and act early,” she said.
“A comprehensive approach, combining lifestyle habits, optical correction, and approved medical options, gives children the best chance to support healthy vision into adulthood,” she emphasised.
Neil Parkin, UK & Ireland general manager for Ryjunea manufacturer, Santen, described the MHRA approval as an “important milestone” in improving awareness and access to care among children with myopia.
“We want to help shift the conversation from correction to control, supporting clinicians, schools, and parents to take early action,” he said.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is currently investigating the cost-effectiveness and clinical efficacy of low-dose atropine eye drops for managing myopia among young people between the ages of three and 14.
“This was a phenomenon that I had anticipated to see later”
Dr Annegret Dahlmann-Noor on the link between growing myopia levels and retinal detachment repair surgery in the UK
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Geraint13 December 2025
The trigger for myopia is accommodative effort
The most common binocular disability is accommodative /convergence insufficiency [ 2 page 10 Table 6}.
If accommodation is inhibited it will affect the reading ability of children who already have an accommodation insufficiency
If a convergence insufficiency is being controlled by accommodative effort then this drug will reduce binocular control at near and make reading more difficult.
Why are we looking for a drug to control myopia when a simple pair of spectacles with a reading addition and base in prism (Mallett) could prevent myopia and reduce reading difficulties at the same time [1, 2].
1. Geraint William Griffiths. “Vision Screening in Primary Education (A Cure for Dyslexia?)”. EC Ophthalmology 13.4 (2022): 10-33.
https://ecronicon.net/assets/ecop/pdf/ECOP-13-00882.pdf
2. The Effect of Optical Correction on Rate of Individual Character Recognition (Static Tracking) in Primary School Children EC Ophthalmology Volume 13.8 (2022): 02-27
https://ecronicon.net/ecop/The-Effect-of-Optical-Correction-on-Rate-of-Individual-Character-Recognition-Static-Tracking-in-Primary-School-Children
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