Second Sight Announces Market Entry into Iran with First Two Implants of Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System
December 05 2017 - 9:00AM
Business Wire
- Marks Continued Global Expansion of Argus
II for Individuals Blinded by Retinitis Pigmentosa -
Second Sight Medical Products, Inc. (NASDAQ: EYES) ("Second
Sight" or "the Company"), a developer, manufacturer and marketer of
implantable visual prosthetics that are intended to create an
artificial form of useful vision to blind patients, today announced
market entry into Iran, implanting the first two patients with the
Company’s Argus® II Retinal Prosthesis System (“Argus II”). The
implant was facilitated by the country’s exclusive distribution
partner, Arshia Gostar Darman Co. Ltd.
“These first implants in Iran are part of our strategy to
selectively target and partner with leading eye centers and
distribution partners around the world in order to increase the
availability of the Argus II to individuals with Retinitis
Pigmentosa. The adoption of Argus II by a growing number of centers
globally is a testament to the increasing acceptance of our
technology,” said Will McGuire, Chief Executive Officer of Second
Sight.
The implants were performed in Shiraz, Iran during November 2017
by Professor Mohsen Farvardin and his team at the Shiraz Pars
Hospital and Khalili Hospital, Shiraz Medical Science
University in 44-year-old and 33-year-old patients with Retinitis
Pigmentosa.
Professor Emin Özmert from the University Faculty of Medicine,
Department of Ophthalmology, Ankara, Turkey acted as a supporting
surgeon.
About the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System
Second Sight's Argus II System provides electrical stimulation
that bypasses the defunct retinal cells and stimulates remaining
viable cells inducing visual perception in individuals with severe
to profound Retinitis Pigmentosa. The Argus II works by converting
images captured by a miniature video camera mounted on the
patient's glasses into a series of small electrical pulses, which
are transmitted wirelessly to an array of electrodes implanted on
the surface of the retina. These pulses stimulate the retina's
remaining cells, intending to result in the perception of patterns
of light in the brain. The patient must learn to interpret these
visual patterns, having the potential to regain some visual
function. The Argus II was the first artificial retina to receive
widespread commercial approval, and is offered at approved centers
in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South
Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United
States. Further information on the benefits and risks can be found
in the peer reviewed paper at:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0161642016305796
About the OrionTM Visual Cortical Prosthesis
System
Second Sight, the manufacturer of the Argus II Retinal
Prosthesis System (Argus II), has developed a new device, the
Orion. A proof-of-concept clinical trial at UCLA demonstrating the
viability of stimulation of the human visual cortex with a
commercially available device from a different manufacturer was
announced in Q4 2016. First-in-human clinical studies with the
Orion are planned to begin in 2017. Like the Argus II, the idea
behind Second Sight’s Orion is to convert images captured by a
miniature video camera mounted on the patient's glasses into a
series of small electrical pulses. The Orion is designed to
transmit these electrical pulses wirelessly to an array of
electrodes implanted on the surface of the visual cortex, intended
to result in the perception of patterns of light. By bypassing the
retina and optic nerve and directly stimulating the visual cortex,
a cortical prosthesis system has the potential to restore useful
vision to patients completely blinded due to many reasons,
including glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, or forms of cancer and
trauma – many fold more patients than for the current Argus II
indications. No clinical data is yet available for the Orion.
About Second Sight
Second Sight's mission is to develop, manufacture and market
innovative implantable visual prosthetics to enable blind
individuals to achieve greater independence. Second Sight has
developed, and now manufactures and markets, the Argus® II Retinal
Prosthesis System. Enrollment has been completed in a feasibility
trial to test the safety and utility of the Argus II in individuals
with Dry Age-Related Macular Degeneration. New hardware and
software to improve the quality of the vision produced is underway.
A clinical trial to study the Argus II in better-sighted subjects
earlier in the disease was recently approved in Germany. Second
Sight is also developing the Orion™ Visual Cortical Prosthesis to
restore some vision to individuals who are blind due to causes
other than preventable or treatable conditions. U.S. Headquarters
are in Sylmar, California, and European Headquarters are in
Lausanne, Switzerland. For more information, visit
www.secondsight.com.
Safe Harbor
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange and Exchange
Act of 1934, as amended, which are intended to be covered by the
"safe harbor" created by those sections. All statements in this
release that are not based on historical fact are "forward looking
statements." These statements may be identified by words such as
"estimates," "anticipates," "projects," "plans," or "planned,"
"seeks," "may," "will," "expects," "intends," "believes," "should,"
and similar expressions, or the negative versions thereof, and
which also may be identified by their context. All statements that
address operating performance or events or developments that Second
Sight expects or anticipates will occur in the future, such as
stated objectives or goals, or that are not otherwise historical
facts, are forward-looking statements. While management has based
any forward-looking statements included in this release on its
current expectations, the information on which such expectations
were based may change. Forward-looking statements involve inherent
risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ
materially from those in the forward-looking statements, as a
result of various factors including those risks and uncertainties
described in the Risk Factors and in Management's Discussion and
Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations sections
of our Annual Report, on Form 10-K, as filed on March 16,
2017, and our other reports filed from time to time with
the Securities and Exchange Commission. We urge you to
consider those risks and uncertainties in evaluating our
forward-looking statements. We caution readers not to place undue
reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, which speak only
as of the date made. Except as otherwise required by the federal
securities laws, we disclaim any obligation or undertaking to
publicly release any updates or revisions to any forward-looking
statement contained herein (or elsewhere) to reflect any change in
our expectations with regard thereto, or any change in events,
conditions, or circumstances on which any such statement is
based.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171205005878/en/
Investor Relations:Institutional
InvestorsIn-Site Communications, Inc.Lisa Wilson,
212-452-2793Presidentlwilson@insitecony.comorIndividual InvestorsMZ North AmericaGreg Falesnik,
949-385-6449Managing Directorgreg.falesnik@mzgroup.us
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