Article in "Optistock" newsletter geared toward investing in vision industry.
The first minimally invasive vision correction surgery product has arrived in the U.S. Intacs? for myopia, developed by Silicon Valley-based KeraVision, Inc., are also the first surgical product designed especially for the largest part of the vision correction market: the estimated 20 million adult Americans who are mildly nearsighted.
"These are people with -1.0 to -3.0 diopters of nearsightedness who need glasses and contacts to drive, watch a movie or see an alarm clock in the morning," said KeraVision Chairman and CEO Thomas M. Loarie. "By offering them a safe choice and a high quality of vision, we believe Intacs will expand the market for vision correction surgery by targeting this broad segment of the market."
Intacs (left), made of a polymer with a long history of use in eyes, are smaller than a contact lens and often harder to detect in the eye.
The Intacs technology is based on a unique principle: reshaping corneal curvature (and altering how light reaches the retina) by adding material to the eye instead of cutting or removing corneal tissue like other surgical procedures. The material is a transparent polymer that has been used since 1952 in intraocular lens implants to treat cataracts.
The procedure takes about 15 minutes per eye. Only a single incision, less than two millimeters wide, is involved. This occurs outside the central optical zone in the periphery of the cornea. Intacs are designed to be inserted between the natural layers of stromal tissue without tearing or cutting the tissue.
KeraVision believes the impressive clinical results for Intacs -- and the fact that Intacs can be removed or exchanged if a patient?s vision changes because of age -- will attract a new, more conservative type of customer to vision correction surgery.
Loarie added, "Intacs give consumers what they want from eyeglasses and contacts, which is 20/20 vision or better and the freedom to change their prescriptions as they get older. Intacs also free them from the fuss of eyeglasses or contacts, which is the benefit of surgery. So our product offers a flexible option between corrective lenses and invasive procedures that permanently alter the eye."
Comparative Results
The Intacs technology brings an impressive list of "firsts" to the vision correction surgery market. In addition to being the first minimally invasive procedure and the first developed especially for mild myopes, Intacs are:
First FDA-approved non-laser surgical option to eyeglasses and contact lenses.
First to reshape the cornea mechanically instead of surgically.
First to preserve the central optical zone without cutting or removing tissue.
First to maintain the natural contour of the eye, which according to medical literature, is an important factor in overall quality of vision.
First vision correction surgery product that can be consumer-branded as a product that consumers can specifically request.
First that can be removed and exchanged for an Intacs of a different prescription.
In addition, the company is in U.S. Phase III clinical trials to treat a wider range of myopia, from -0.75 diopters to -5.0 diopters. This would give KeraVision access to an estimated 80% of the U.S. myopia market, according to industry figures.
"KeraVision?s ultimate goal," Loarie said, "is to develop a complete surgeon?s tool kit using our Intacs technology to custom-correct a patient?s eye and to adjust the correction as the patient?s needs change with age." |
