Visioneering Technologies, Inc. announced its new CEO and executive director: Juan Carlos Aragón, OD.
Refresh me on this company.
Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia (with locations across North America, Australia, Europe, and soon Asia), Visioneering Technologies is a medical device company focused on designing, manufacturing, selling, and distributing contact lenses in the North America, European, and Asian-Pacific markets.
And its products?
The company’s flagship product is the NaturalVue (etafilcon A) Multifocal 1 Day (NaturalVue MF), an extended depth-of-focus (EDOF) contact lens for managing both myopia and presbyopia.
The company’s proprietary Neurofocus Optics design creates the EDOF, allowing for multiple focal points—unlike traditional multifocal lenses, which only have two—along the visual axis and resulting in a wider range of clear vision.
See here for a complete product list.
Now to Aragón … what’s his background?
With 30 years of vision care experience, Dr. Aragón served in various senior roles at CooperVision—most recently serving as president of CooperVision Specialty EyeCare.
He also held several roles at Bausch + Lomb and CIBA Vision (prior to the merger with Alcon in the Novartis AG / Nestle AG deal in 2011).
What else?
Dr. Aragón currently volunteers as chairman of the Board of Optometry Giving Sight.
He is also a former board member and chair of the Global Myopia Awareness Coalition (GMAC), which operates with the goal of raising public awareness around pediatric myopia.
His previous board member roles also extend to the Brien Holden Foundation, International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), Vision Aid Overseas (now Vision Action, and Sight Glass Vision.
So when is this effective?
According to VTI, October 1, 2023.
Gotcha. Anything to keep an eye out for, in the meantime?
Yes, actually… according to Dr. Aragón, the company is expected to release interim 1-year data from the multicenter, randomized, double-masked PROTECT trial (NCT05159765) in the next few months.
The study is evaluating the use of NaturalVue Sphere single-vision contact lenses (SVCL) or NaturalVue MF for the treatment of pediatric myopia.
Give me the study details.
An estimated 144 myopic participants (ages 7 to 13) are being randomized to wear either SVCL or NaturalVue MF for 3 years.
Investigators are assessing the following:
- Primary outcome
- Change in refractive error relative to baseline (at baseline, 12, 24, and 36 months)
- Secondary outcome
- Change in axial length (at baseline, 12, 24, and 36 months).
When is the study slated to conclude?
According to Clinical Trials, by August 2025.