CooperVision snags HCA Medtech Awards’ Patient Advocacy Program of the Year

Their MiSight® 1 day gives hope to children all over the world who are suffering from myopia.

Being considered the world's leading manufacturer of contact lenses may be a daunting task for some, but for CooperVision that has been in the eye care industry since 1970, it's just another day to showcase their excellence in creating contact lenses that help millions of people see better each day.

With a rich history of innovation, Cooper is a global medical device company with products sold in more than 100 countries. Under CooperVision, its line of contact lenses addresses the most common and complex vision challenges. Whether addressing common vision correction needs like astigmatism or more challenging issues, such as irregular cornea and childhood myopia, CooperVision brings a refreshing perspective to vision care backed by the world's most complete line of spherical, toric, multifocal, and specialty lenses.

This passion to solve vision challenges is what drove the company to undertake an ambitious project for children with myopia. Myopia is common, and its prevalence is rising. In fact, it is expected to affect more than 50% of the world’s population by 2050.¹ For children, blurry vision caused by myopia can interfere with their daily lives, makiwhing it harder for them to participate in school, sports, or other activities. Many parents don’t realize their child may be struggling with myopia. And even if they do realize it, they usually don’t understand that myopia in children can get worse over time,² potentially leading to eye health problems later in life. For children who develop myopia at an early age, the progression rate tends to be faster, so it’s crucial to start with myopia management as early as possible.³ Helping to slow the progression can help reduce the risk of myopia-related vision complications down the road.⁴

CooperVision recognises the importance of access to myopia management treatments for children’s health and wellbeing. Its commitment to ensure more children have access to myopia management control programs have led the company to spend over a decade cultivating the awareness; developing extensive research and new technology, and supporting access to treatment, care, and philanthropic efforts that are needed to change the course of this global upward trend. 

Backed up by a globally run multicenter study, including Singaporean research contributions, CooperVision was able to demonstrate strong safety and efficacy for a myopia control treatment with the November 2019 landmark FDA approval of MiSight® 1 day. This eye health innovation, which helps eye care practitioners throughout the world better manage myopia progression in children, is one of the most significant developments in eye health in the past two decades. It’s also the first and only soft contact lens approved by FDA to slow the progression of myopia in children 8 – 12 years old.

The FDA approval of MiSight® 1 day contact lens is backed by six years of solid clinical evidence from a multi-center, double-masked, randomized multi-year study that enrolled 144 myopic children aged 8-12 years from Singapore, Canada, the United Kingdom and Portugal—a globally-lauded achievement, as no other study of this length and rigor for a soft contact lens in children has ever been conducted. 

In just three years, the use of MiSight® 1 day was shown to slow myopia progression: 59% as measured by mean cycloplegic spherical equivalent (SE) and 52% as measured by mean axial elongation of the eye.⁵ As the trial continued, CooperVision saw highly encouraging results in years four, five, and six, in which the original control group was refitted into MiSight® 1 day.⁶ This included older children, some of whom are now wearing the contact lens in their late teens. 

MiSight® 1 day’s potential to significantly alter how children see the world today and for generations to come cannot be overstated. It's for this reason that Healthcare Asia recognises their commitment and hard work by honouring them with the Patient Advocacy Program of the Year - Singapore award.

While CooperVision is fortunate to hold a leading position in solving vision challenges, the company also believes that it's important to bring together and empower others who can make a difference, give a voice, and a solution to the growing number of myopic children around the world. 

REFERENCES

1. Holden BA, Fricke TR, Wilson DA, et al. Global prevalence of myopia and high myopia and temporal trends from 2000 through 2050. Ophthalmology. 2016;123(5):1036-1042. 

2. CVI data on file 2019. 

3. Donovan, L, Sankaridurg P, Ho A, Naduvilath T, Smith Et 3rd, Holden BA. Myopia progression rates in urban children wearing single vision spectacles. Optom Vis Sci. 2012;89(1):27-32.doc:10.1097/OPX 

4. Tideman JW et al. Association of axial length with risk of uncorrectable visual impairment for Europeans with myopia. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2016;134:1355-1363.

5. Chamberlain P, et al. A 3-year randomized clinical trial of MiSight® lenses for myopia control. Optom Vis Sci. 2019; 96(8):556-67.

6. Chamberlain P, Arumugam B, Jones D et al. Myopia Progression in Children Wearing Dual-Focus Contact Lenses: 6-Year Findings. Optom Vis Sci 2020;97(E-abstract):200038

Hear from their head of professional services in APAC, Tacy Song and senior director MiSight in APAC, Hamish Thrum as they discuss how the team recognised and cultivated the importance of treating Myopia, a common vision condition which led them to establish a program that can impact the eye health of millions of children across the region.