Johnson & Johnson Vision announces leading investment in TECLens’s Series A financing！
Source: Eye Future
Editor: Nanyi
Cover image source: pixabay
Recently,Johnson & Johnson Vision CareAnnounced the leading investment in TECLens's Series A financing, a startup medical technology company dedicated to disrupting the refractive surgery market, whose core technology is a namedQuantitative Corneal Cross-Linking (qCXL™)The innovative incision-free technology,Can reshape the cornea without laser ablation or invasive surgery.This investment also upholds Johnson & Johnson's commitment to advancing smarter, minimally invasive, and personalized medical solutions.TECLens initially targeted presbyopia but plans to expand its clinical research to cover keratoconus, mild myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism. The company envisions its non-invasive, clinic-based treatment becoming the preferred choice for patients seeking refractive correction.TECLens is currently planning its first refractive correction clinical study for its disposable vision correction treatment.qCXL——Refractive Technology RevolutionCorneal cross-linking is an important surgical method for treating corneal diseases such as keratoconus. It mainly includes two types: epithelium-off and epithelium-on. Its therapeutic effect is influenced by factors such as riboflavin concentration, irradiation energy, and irradiation time.Therefore, how to make riboflavin quickly penetrate into the corneal stromal tissue has also been a hot topic of discussion in recent years.The drawback is that the mainstream technology uses cross-linking instruments that are relatively large in size. The cornea is irradiated with overhead ultraviolet light, and the UV lamp is mounted on a movable arm bracket. This not only takes up a significant amount of space but also requires doctors to constantly control the light to ensure proper targeting.The patient also needs to lie completely still on the operating table for about half an hour with the help of an eyelid speculum.The core technology of TECLens is a namedThe innovative incision-free technology of Quantitative Corneal Cross-Linking (qCXL™) can reshape the cornea without the need for laser ablation or invasive surgery.The company stated that this technology cannot only solveKeratoconus, and can also correct the vision of healthy eyesVision Problems, such as the recovery of presbyopia patients' reading vision, the control of progressive myopia in children, and the correction of adult vision errors, such as hyperopia and low-degree myopia, etc.
Working Principle and Features
The working principle is:TECLens's qCXL™ technology delivers UV light directly to the eye through a fiber-optic connected scleral contact lens, combined with a customized riboflavin (vitamin B2) dosage. The treatment process is performed under real-time ultrasound monitoring until onboard sensors and algorithms determine that certain biomechanical properties of the corneal stroma have been adjusted to pre-planned values.Patients do not need an eyelid speculum and can open and close their eyes through contact lenses. Eye and head movements do not affect the treatment outcome, eliminating motion artifacts for patients and the need for complex eye-tracking hardware and algorithms.
In addition, this technology is equipped with a dedicated riboflavin reservoir system that can automatically enter the vaulted space formed between the contact lens and the corneal surface.
| Product Features
After the administration of vitamin B2 (riboflavin), CXLens directly acts on the scleral surface of the eye (above the cornea) and emits specific ultraviolet light for the corneal cross-linking process.
Ultraviolet irradiation continues, with ultrasound transmitted through the ultraviolet beam. The built-in ultrasound transducer provides real-time elastography feedback during the cross-linking process to measure real-time quantitative cross-linking (qCXL) parameters, including increased corneal stiffness, collagen fiber tightening, and changes in corneal thickness.
CXLens Lens Cross-SectionCXLens achieves control over precise and permanent corneal shape changes (refractive correction) through this closed-loop drug delivery model (selective hardening of the corneal surface).
The unique cross-linking solution provides a comfortable and high-oxygen environment to accelerate cross-linking. Supplemental oxygen can speed up the reaction, stored in the reservoir of the scleral lens, providing an ultrasound transmission path and carrying up to 60% by weight of oxygen, with both ultraviolet and ultrasound able to penetrate.
TECLens, Inc. was founded in 2013 and is developing a cross-linking technology that can accurately repair vision problems in healthy eyes as well as treat keratoconus. It enables presbyopia patients to regain the ability to read at a distance, controls progressive myopia in children, and corrects adult hyperopia, mild myopia, and other vision problems. To date, it has raised$5.6 millionThe main members of the company's management team are as follows:Tom DunlapAs the CEO of TECLens, he has previously led startups and divisions of global healthcare companies worth billions of dollars.He has held senior executive positions at HOYA Surgical Optics, Centricity Vision, Allergan Medical Optics, Bausch + Lomb, Coherent Medical, and Surgilase.He has also served on the boards of several ophthalmic companies.
David AckerIs a co-founder of TECLens, and has founded multiple medical device companies, including "Biosense" (now "Biosense Webster, Inc."), which was acquired by Johnson & Johnson. He also holds 33 U.S. patents for medical devices in the field of minimally invasive surgery.Pat Lopath Is a co-founder of TECLens, with over 20 years of experience in the medical device and pharmaceutical development fields, as well as a background in management consulting and operational leadership in medical device and pharmaceutical companies, holding 17 U.S. medical technology patents.// Source of this article: Eye Future❖Disclaimer: The content of this article is for learning and communication purposes only. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the original author. All images in this article are based on the CC0 protocol and have been authorized. If you have any questions, please contact the editor.
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