Essilor Launches Global Debut of Stellest® Myopia Management Lens at CIIE 2020

Shanghai, November 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- At the new product launch platform of the third China International Import Expo, Essilor, a global leader in optometry, announced its "epoch-making" new product, Stellest, which can effectively delay the progression of myopia in adolescents.^®The lenses officially debuted, marking the product's first public unveiling worldwide.

Myopia has become a global health crisis, with the worldwide myopic population projected to exceed five billion by 2050. In China, data released by the National Health Commission in April 2019 showed that the overall prevalence of myopia among children and adolescents was 53.6% in 2018.^[1]. Data recently disclosed by the Ministry of Education indicates that the myopia rate among students increased by 11.7% in the first half of this year compared to the end of 2019.^[2]In addition to reducing visual clarity, high myopia can also lead to various ocular diseases such as glaucoma, cataracts, retinal detachment, and macular degeneration, thereby increasing the risk of blindness. With the mission of “Improving Vision, Improving Life,” Essilor pioneered the launch of Stellest in the Chinese market.^®Solution.

Mr. Dumanois, President of Essilor Greater China and President of Essilor’s Global Instruments Division, stated: “We are delighted to leverage the highly influential platform of the China International Import Expo (CIIE) to introduce Essilor’s most advanced innovative solutions for myopia control in children and adolescents to the Chinese market for the first time. Preliminary studies conducted with our partners have shown that Stellest”^®“It is currently one of Essilor’s most effective myopia control lenses. Its launch has the potential to change the lives of millions of children with myopia. As a groundbreaking product, it will strongly support our fight against myopia as a public health issue, embodying Essilor’s commitment to leveraging technological innovation to safeguard the eye health of adolescents in China.”

Guided by the mission to “Improve Vision, Improve Life,” Essilor not only provides a range of leading vision correction solutions but also actively invests resources in researching and developing technologies and products that can effectively slow the progression of myopia. Through collaboration with globally leading research institutions and myopia experts, Essilor’s R&D team pioneered the H.A.L.T. (Highly Aspherical Lenslet Target) technology. The Stellest lens, designed based on this technology,^®The lenses utilize 1,021 microlenses discreetly distributed across 11 concentric star-shaped rings to form defocused light bands in front of the retina, creating signal zones that slow axial elongation, thereby achieving the effect of slowing myopia progression.

At the launch ceremony, Lin Guoliang, President of Essilor Vision Care (China), stated, “The younger the age at which myopia develops, the faster the progression of refractive error, making it more likely to progress into high myopia, which in turn can lead to retina-related ocular diseases. Stellest”^®“These lenses can slow the progression of myopia in children and adolescents, reducing the risk of blindness associated with high myopia. We are pleased to be the first to launch this product in the Chinese market. Meanwhile, we hope to collaborate with all stakeholders to jointly establish an ecosystem for the prevention and control of myopia in children and adolescents.”

Since 2018, Essilor has collaborated with the School of Optometry and Ophthalmology at Wenzhou Medical University in China to conduct a three-year clinical trial on this product, involving 167 myopic children. The first-year results showed that wearing Stellest^®Compared with children wearing single-vision lenses, those wearing the lenses experienced a reduction of over 60% in the average progression of myopia. Furthermore, all children wearing Stellest^®The child perceives the lens vision as clear, has adapted within just one week, and is wearing Stellest.^®The visual quality behind the lenses is also as comfortable as wearing single-vision lenses.

Professor Lü Fan, Director of the International Clinical Medical Research Center for Eye Diseases and affiliated with the Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, stated, “We place great importance on our collaboration with Essilor to develop Stellest.”^®“In the clinical study of the lenses, our research team strictly adhered to the design protocol for controlled clinical trials. After more than two years of follow-up, current results indicate that Stellest has a significant effect in slowing myopia progression in children and adolescents, with excellent wearing compliance and safety performance.”

At the inaugural “Timing the Future” Global Corporate Innovation Practice Annual Summit held on the eve of the China International Import Expo, Stellest^®Stellest also received the “2020 Annual Case Award for Technological and Product Innovation.”^®The lenses have been progressively introduced to major hospitals across China, where professional ophthalmologists will recommend them to more Chinese adolescents suffering from myopia. The product will subsequently be launched through other channels in phases.

[1] http://www.nhc.gov.cn/xcs/s7847/201904/e9117ea8b6b84f48962e84401d305292.shtml
[2] http://www.moe.gov.cn/fbh/live/2020/52320/mtbd/202008/t20200828_481679.html