June 7, 2021
ATLANTA – U.S.-based medical device company and producer of the NaturalVue (etafilcon A) Multifocal 1 Day Contact Lenses, Visioneering Technologies, Inc (ASX: VTI) has provided an update on the impact of NaturalVue on practice dynamics and patients’ lives.
Since the company was founded in 2008, VTI’s contact lenses impact patients’ lives from age 7 to 70. Together, NaturalVue Multifocal and NaturalVue Sphere contact lenses address adult myopia and hyperopia, pediatric myopia, accommodative issues in young adults, and the special needs of mature presbyopes.
Even amidst a global pandemic, NaturalVue has proven to be a game changer for patients as well as a source of sustained business for eye care professionals. Ronald L. Hoffman, OD, an optometrist in Huntington Station, NY, attests to the critical role of NaturalVue contact lenses: “Without a doubt, NaturalVue has helped to sustain my practice during the most challenging times. I am able to maintain a thriving contact lens practice in today’s competitive market because of the unique properties of NaturalVue contact lenses and the loyalty of NaturalVue patients.”
Myopic children’s vision typically worsens with age, exposing them to a lifetime of elevated risk of blindness and other serious ocular diseases. Up to 90% of children are myopic in some countries, and according to the Journal of the American Medical Association, home confinement during COVID-19 has caused the prevalence of myopia in young children in 2020 to increase up to three times when compared to the prior five years. It’s more important than ever to act urgently in the best interest of the youngest, most vulnerable patients.
VTI provides practitioners with a powerful tool for controlling the worsening of myopia over time, while simultaneously correcting distance vision. Recently released data through five years (59 months) of use in children show exciting long-term reduction or inhibition of myopic progression in children wearing NaturalVue Multifocal. Additionally, as a founding member of the Global Myopia Awareness Coalition (GMAC), VTI serves alongside the world’s largest eye care companies to continue to drive myopia management action among ECPs and parents.
Nick Dash, MCOptom, of Midland Eye Private Clinic of Birmingham, United Kingdom, was excited to hear that for the 153 children studied, 93% experienced a slowing of their myopia progression, with 65% experiencing a slowing greater than 70%.1 “These studies fully replicate the experience I am having in my practice in the U.K. Our patient audits (including measuring myopia and axial eye length) endorse our current strategy of managing childhood myopia, using NaturalVue Multifocal as one of my go-to interventions.”
Thomas Aller, OD, FBCLA, of San Bruno, Calif., a highly regarded expert in pediatric myopia, commented, “VTI’s data in children to date is highly encouraging and supports usage of NaturalVue MF in the treatment of pediatric myopia. I’m also excited to see VTI initiate their randomized clinical trials as they continue to be at the forefront of the rapidly changing and expanding research on myopia.”
Retaining patients throughout the pandemic shutdown was a monumental challenge for most ECPs. COVID-19 pushed more patients to online shopping, with 36% of patients no longer purchasing contact lenses from their ECP.1 Losing 200 patients could cost a practice about $54,000 in product revenue, plus lost accessory and spectacle sales.2
Practices that utilized differentiated products, such as NaturalVue Multifocal contact lenses, maintained a significant portion of their patients—even in the pandemic. In fact, during the height of the shutdown, NaturalVue Multifocal contact lenses had a retention rate of 91%,3 with a 92% re-purchase rate,4 which compares favorably to published annual retention rates for some other multifocal contact lenses.5
“For children suffering from progressing myopia, the vast number of presbyopes who want to keep their natural vision, and those in-between, VTI continues to advance science to improve the vision health and quality of life of patients worldwide,” said Dr. Stephen Snowdy, CEO, VTI. “Look for our latest innovations beginning in late 2021 and 2022, including an enhanced NaturalVue Multifocal and NaturalVue Multifocal Toric lenses, which will allow practitioners to further expand to patients with astigmatism. VTI has revolutionized practices by offering innovations that help ECPs redefine what’s possible. And, together, the best is yet to come.”
References:
- Benoit, Douglas P., Dillehay, Sally M. New Clinical Evidence through 5 Years: NaturalVue Multifocal for Myopia Management. The Myopia Meeting, September 2020.
- Estimate derived from data from Nichols J. Contact Lenses 2020. Contact Lens Spectrum. January 2021:18-25 and are used for illustrative purposes only.
- GfK US Contact Lens FITS Tracking, June 2020.
- Data from established accounts after 12 months. VTI data on file, 2016.
- Sully A, Young G, Hunt C. Factors in the success of new contact lens wearers. Cont Lens Anterior Eye. 2017 Feb; 40:15-24.
