VTI Visioneering Technologies Inc

Data show VTI’s unique extended depth-of-focus center-distance contact lenses may decrease, halt and even reverse myopic progression in children

Visioneering Technologies, Inc. (ASX:VTI) today announced the positive results of a new retrospective case series analysis on the impact of its NaturalVue® Multifocal 1 Day Contact Lenses (NaturalVue MF) in children with myopia, or near-sightedness. VTI’s NaturalVue MF contact lenses feature the innovative Neurofocus Optics® Technology, which uses an extended depth-of-focus design to address known optical risk factors associated with the progression of myopia.

In the study, researchers retrospectively reviewed 32 patients’ records of children ages 6 to 19 years, from 10 U.S.-based practice locations.1 At initial presentation, the children in the study wore a mix of vision solutions, including glasses, spherical soft contact lenses (simple lenses that just correct near-sighted vision), other brands of soft multifocal contact lenses, or orthokeratology lenses (hard contact lenses worn overnight while the child sleeps). All participants had some degree of myopia and their vision solutions were replaced with VTI’s NaturalVue MF contact lenses. Their myopia progression was then measured over the following 6 to 25 months and annualized for direct comparison to each child’s historical annualized myopic progression, which served as the control.

The study, which was published in the peer-reviewed journal, Eye and Contact Lens, documented an approximately 96% reduction (average of both eyes) of annualized myopic progression in children aged 6 to 19, with 98.4% of the children showing a decrease in the rate of worsening of their myopia.1 The most frequent amount of the reduction in the myopic progression was 100%, meaning that complete halting of myopia progression was the most common result in the children. Overall, 81.25% of the children had complete halting of myopic progression during the time period of the study, including 6.25% demonstrating some reversal of their myopia. These results in slowing the progression of myopia were achieved while also providing the children with vision equivalent to that of glasses, with high levels of comfort. Even children as young as 6 years old were successfully trained to insert and remove VTI’s contact lenses.

These findings are particularly significant in that myopia has reached near global epidemic proportions. The rate of myopia in the U.S. has doubled since the 1970s2 and has reached 80% or more of children in a number of Asian countries.3 In Australia, which has historically enjoyed low rates of myopia, the rate of myopia in 12-year-old children of European Caucasian descent doubled from 2005 to 2011.4 In addition to the increasing prevalence of myopia, its magnitude has also increased.5 These factors have far reaching implications since myopia has been identified as the sixth leading cause of vision loss,6 and has been shown to be associated with increased risks of myopic macular degeneration, retinal detachment, glaucoma, and cataract.5

The publication, entitled Case Series Analysis of Myopic Progression Control with a Unique Extended Depth of Focus Multifocal Contact Lens, was authored by Jeffrey Cooper+, M.S., O.D., F.A.A.O., Brett O’Connor+, O.D., Ronald Watanabe, O.D., F.A.A.O., Randall Fuerst, O.D., F.A.A.O., Sharon Berger, O.D., C.O.V.D., Nadine Eisenberg, O.D, and Sally M. Dillehay, O.D., Ed.D., F.A.A.O, VTI’s Chief Medical Officer. The study’s lead author, Dr. Jeffrey Cooper, is one of the world’s leading experts in treating paediatric myopia, and is Professor Emeritus at the State University of New York College of Optometry.

“Nearly 5 billion people are predicted to be affected by myopia by 2050,7 the majority of them children. Combined with the enormous medical and economic costs of treating the serious eye diseases that come with myopia, myopia deserves the respect of a global epidemic,” said Stephen Snowdy, PhD, VTI CEO and Executive Director. “These data combined with VTI’s recently granted patents in Asia and Australia, and other pending territories, serve to position VTI as a leader in managing myopia in children.”

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1   Cooper J, O’Connor, B, Watanabe R, Fuerst R, Berger S, Eisenberg N, Dillehay SM. Case series analysis of myopic progression control with a unique extended depth of focus multifocal contact lens. Eye & Contact Lens. 2017;(e-pub prior to publication, Oct). 2 Vitale S, Sperduto RD, Ferris FL. Increased prevalence of myopia in the United States between 1971-1972 and 1999-2004. Arch Ophthalmol. 2009;127(12):1632-1639. 3 Saw SM, Tong L, Chua WH, et al. Incidence and progression of myopia in Singaporean school children. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2005;46(1):51-57. 4 French AN, Morgan IG, Burlutsky G, Mitchell P, Rose KA. Prevalence and 5- to 6-year incidence and progression of myopia and hyperopia in Australian school children. Ophthalmology. 2013;120:1482-1491. 5 Flitcroft Dl. The complex interactions of retinal, optical and environmental factors in myopia aetiology. Prog Retin Eye Res. 2102;31(6):622-660. 6 Cooper J, Schulman E, Jamal N. Current status on the development and treatment of myopia. Optometry. 2012;83(5):179-199. 7 Holden BA, Fricke TR, Wilson DA, Jong M, Naidoo KS, Sankaridurg P, Wong TY, Naduvilath TJ, Resnikoff S. Global prevalence of myopia and high myopia and temporal trends from 2000 through 2050. Ophthalmology. 2016;123(5):1036-1042.

+ Advisor to VTI

MKT-VTI-PR42 r1

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Visioneering Technologies, Inc.Layna L. MendlingerExecutive Director of Marketinginfo@vtivision.com