Physician Formulated Ophthalmic Complex
NMN Eye Health Formula
Developed by Dr. Anthony Curreri, MD — a board-certified ophthalmologist — for patients who deserve every evidence-supported tool available for their eyes.
The Formula
Intessa was formulated to address every major pathway implicated in age-related ocular disease — in a single, bioavailable capsule you take once a day.
Why Intessa
NAD+ declines 40–50% by age 60. Retinal ganglion cells and photoreceptors have the highest NAD+ demand of any tissue. 500mg NMN bypasses the rate-limiting NAMPT enzyme to restore NAD+ directly.
Lutein 10mg and Zeaxanthin 2mg — the exact doses from the landmark AREDS2 trial — concentrate in the macula to filter blue light and neutralise reactive oxygen species in the photoreceptors.
Pyridoxal-5-Phosphate and Methylcobalamin in their bioactive forms support one-carbon metabolism and optic nerve axon integrity — validated by the Karolinska Institute's 2025 glaucoma research.
95% Piperine extract inhibits intestinal enzymes and P-glycoprotein efflux, increasing absorption of every co-ingredient by up to 30–60%. Every dose delivers its full clinical value.
Designed by Dr. Anthony Curreri, MD — a board-certified ophthalmologist. Not a general wellness supplement. Formulated specifically for the metabolic vulnerabilities that drive ocular ageing.
Five mechanisms. One capsule. Patients buying equivalent coverage separately would need three or more products. Intessa delivers everything together, once a day.
The Physician Behind the Formula
Board-Certified Ophthalmologist · New York City
Dr. Curreri has spent his career studying the metabolic vulnerabilities that make the ageing eye susceptible to glaucoma and macular degeneration. What he found in the published literature — and what he saw in his own patients — led him to formulate Intessa.
"The research is clear. Your eyes need NAD+. I formulated Intessa to deliver it."
The Research
Intessa draws on three bodies of published research: NAD+ and the metabolism of the ageing retina and optic nerve, the National Eye Institute's AREDS studies on macular carotenoids, and B-vitamin metabolism in the optic nerve. Each study below is summarised in plain language, with exactly what was tested and in whom.
The retina is one of the most energy-hungry tissues in the body. These studies examine what happens to it when NAD+ runs low.
Cell Reports
Knocking out NAMPT, the enzyme that drives the main NAD+ recycling pathway, in rods or cones caused retinal degeneration. NMN restored vision in both models. Low retinal NAD+ also appeared early in mouse models of light damage, diabetic retinopathy and age-related decline.
Tested: NMN in genetically modified mice
Lin et al., Washington UniversityView study
Science
Retinal NAD+ fell with age in glaucoma-prone mice, leaving retinal ganglion cells vulnerable to pressure-related stress. Oral nicotinamide was protective, and at the highest dose 93% of treated eyes did not develop glaucoma. This paper established glaucoma as a metabolic, NAD+-sensitive disease.
Tested: Nicotinamide (vitamin B3) in drinking water, DBA/2J mice
Williams et al., The Jackson LaboratoryView study
Harvard Medical School
Dr. David Sinclair's lab at Harvard's Paul F. Glenn Center for Biology of Aging Research has spent two decades studying why cells lose function with age. Two threads of that work reach the eye: NAD+ decline, and loss of epigenetic information. His lab has used the eye as a model for testing whether ageing can be reversed.
Dr. Sinclair is not affiliated with Intessa Health and has not reviewed or endorsed this product. His research is cited here for its scientific relevance only.
Cell
Falling NAD+ disrupts mitochondrial communication with age
In ageing mice, declining NAD+ broke down signalling between the nucleus and mitochondria. One week of NMN restored markers of mitochondrial function in the muscle of old mice. Gomes et al. View study
Aging
NMN protects photoreceptors in retinal detachment
Co-authored with Massachusetts Eye and Ear. NMN raised retinal NAD+ and reduced photoreceptor loss in mice. Chen et al. View study
Nature
Restoring youthful epigenetic information restored vision in mice
Using gene therapy to switch on three genes (OSK) in retinal ganglion cells, the lab regenerated damaged optic nerves and reversed vision loss in a mouse glaucoma model and in old mice. This is gene therapy, not a nutrient, and is a separate mechanism from NAD+. Lu et al. View study
First-in-human trial
ER-100 enters human testing for glaucoma and NAION
Life Biosciences, which Dr. Sinclair co-founded, dosed its first patient in June 2026 with ER-100, a therapy built on the 2020 Nature work. The Phase 1 trial is assessing safety in open-angle glaucoma and NAION. NCT07290244
Small, short-term randomised trials. Both used high-dose nicotinamide rather than NMN, alongside patients' usual pressure-lowering treatment.
Clinical & Experimental Ophthalmology
In a crossover trial of patients with open-angle glaucoma, nicotinamide produced a small but statistically significant improvement in inner retinal function measured by electroretinography. Researchers noted that roughly a quarter of participants showed a substantial improvement.
Tested: Nicotinamide 1.5 g then 3 g daily vs placebo, 12-week periods
Hui et al., Centre for Eye Research AustraliaView study
JAMA Ophthalmology
In 32 patients with treated open-angle glaucoma, more visual field test locations improved in the treatment group than on placebo over a median of about two months. The combination was well tolerated.
Tested: Nicotinamide plus pyruvate vs placebo, alongside usual therapy
De Moraes et al., Columbia UniversityView study
Ophthalmology Glaucoma
The American Glaucoma Society and American Academy of Ophthalmology called nicotinamide promising but not approved for glaucoma. They recommend doses of 3 g a day or more only within monitored trials because of rare liver injury, and advise liver testing for lower doses.
Why it matters: Intessa contains no nicotinamide; it uses 500 mg NMN
Shukla et al., AGS / AAOView statement
Three decades of National Eye Institute research that made nutrition part of standard macular care.
2001
AREDS
3,640 participants followed for about six years. In people at high risk, high-dose vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, zinc and copper lowered the risk of advanced AMD by about 25% and of related vision loss by about 19%. It was the first treatment shown to slow AMD.
AREDS Research Group, Archives of Ophthalmology · View study
2013
AREDS2
4,203 participants tested lutein 10 mg and zeaxanthin 2 mg. Adding them did not improve on the original formula in the main analysis, but in secondary analyses replacing beta-carotene with lutein and zeaxanthin was associated with lower progression, without beta-carotene's lung cancer risk in smokers. The NEI revised its formula accordingly.
AREDS2 Research Group, JAMA · View study
2022
AREDS2 10-year follow-up
Following 3,883 participants for a decade, lutein and zeaxanthin were associated with about 20% lower progression to late AMD compared with beta-carotene, which nearly doubled lung cancer risk in people who had ever smoked.
Chew et al., JAMA Ophthalmology · View study
Intessa contains lutein 10 mg and zeaxanthin 2 mg, the same amounts studied in AREDS2, sourced from marigold.
Intessa does not contain the full AREDS2 formula (vitamins C and E, zinc and copper). If your eye doctor has recommended an AREDS2 supplement, keep taking it and ask them about adding Intessa.
Vitamins B6 and B12 are cofactors in one-carbon metabolism, the pathway that clears homocysteine.
Archives of Internal Medicine
In 5,205 women at high cardiovascular risk followed for about seven years, a daily combination of folic acid, B6 and B12 was associated with a 34% lower risk of developing AMD compared with placebo.
Tested: Folic acid 2.5 mg, B6 50 mg, B12 1 mg daily (Intessa contains B6 and B12, not folic acid)
Christen et al., Harvard / Brigham and Women'sView study
Cell Reports Medicine
Genes governing B6, B12, folate and choline use were dysregulated in the retina and optic nerve before nerve cells were lost, including in stem-cell-derived nerve cells from glaucoma patients. A vitamin cocktail protected retinal ganglion cells and visual function in rodent models, independent of eye pressure.
Tested: Combined B6, B9 (folate), B12 and choline in mice and rats
Tribble, Williams et al., Karolinska InstitutetView study
Randomised trials in healthy adults. These measured safety and blood NAD+, not eye health.
Scientific Reports
In 31 healthy adults aged 20–65, a daily dose of 1,250 mg produced no changes beyond normal variation in blood, urine or body measures, and no serious adverse events.
Tested: NMN 1,250 mg daily vs placebo, 4 weeks
Fukamizu et al.View study
GeroScience
In 80 healthy middle-aged adults over 60 days, NMN at 300, 600 and 900 mg raised blood NAD+ levels in proportion to dose and was well tolerated at every dose.
Tested: NMN 300, 600 or 900 mg daily vs placebo, 60 days
Yi et al.View study
Larger, longer human studies now under way. Results from several are expected between 2026 and 2028. ER-100 is listed in the Sinclair section above.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Intessa is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Research summaries describe published studies and are not claims about Intessa's effects. Speak with your eye care professional before starting any supplement, especially if you are being treated for glaucoma or macular degeneration.
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