Overview
Ocumetics Technology Corp. (TSXV:OTC, OTCQB:OTCFF, FRA:2QBO) is at the forefront of research and product development, focusing on a groundbreaking vision enhancement product – the Ocumetics Accommodating Lens.
This intraocular lens (IOL) is engineered to seamlessly shift the eye’s focus from close to far distances without any noticeable lag. This process is called accommodation.
To grasp the innovation of Ocumetics’ products, it’s essential to understand the workings of the eye. The cornea, a transparent front layer, bends incoming light rays to form images on the retina – the thin, light-sensitive, nerve-rich tissue at the back of the eyes. Working in concert, the pupil and iris regulate light entry, aiding vision adjustment for various distances.
As individuals age or suffer injuries, the eye’s natural lens loses its flexibility to bend light rays accurately, leading to deteriorating eyesight and potential conditions like cataracts with or without astigmatism.
Addressing this issue, Ocumetics has designed a very unique IOL that is surgically implanted to restore a patient’s vision. This lens is designed to harmoniously align with the eye’s natural mechanisms, enhancing vision by appropriately bending light rays. Notably, it’s designed to last a lifetime, presenting a significant potential advancement over other cataract technologies.
The journey to introduce this transformative product to the public is well underway. Ocumetics is positioned to complete a pivotal biocompatibility study in October 2023, followed by a planned first in-human studies in Q1 2024.
Human clinical trials for proof-of-concept are expected to commence by December 2024, in collaboration with esteemed institutions in the United States, Canada and Europe. The company aims for US FDA approval within three-and-a-half years, potentially revolutionizing the vision care market. A dedicated team of highly experienced eye care experts, scientists and business leaders propels Ocumetics forward, ushering this transformative product into the market.
Company Highlights
Ocumetics Technology Corp. is an R&D company developing a vision enhancement product with the potential to disrupt the vision correction industry.The Ocumetics Accommodating Lens is an intraocular lens designed to allow the human eye to shift between close and long-distance images without perceptible adjustment lag.Ocumetics’ product is surgically implanted and is designed to enhance the natural processes, allowing the patient’s eyes to bend light properly for better vision.The Ocumetics Accommodating Lens has substantially completed a series of design improvements, animal studies, surgical procedure development and biocompatibility studies and will soon move toward human clinical trials, slated to begin in Q1 2024.The company aims to receive full US FDA approval within three-and-a-half years and bring its product to a projected intraocular lens market segment of US$6.4 billion by 2030 (Delveinsight 2022).An expert team with experience in clinical eye care, R&D and corporate development is leading the company toward bringing its transformative product to market.
Key Product
Ocumetics Accommodating Lens
Ocumetics aims to solve the problem of eyesight degradation. The proposed solution is a surgically implanted lens that takes over the function of properly bending rays of light by working with the eye’s natural mechanisms, resulting in enhanced vision. Following a series of product enhancements, development of surgical procedure protocols, and animal testing for biocompatibility, the Ocumetics Accommodating Lens will soon begin human trials as the company works toward bringing the product to market.
Project Highlights:
Human Trials Will Soon Commence: Ocumetics is in the process of completing animal testing for biocompatibility with results that meet and exceed expectations. The animal testing phase allows the company to refine the final product design, improve the surgical process and study the product’s biocompatibility. First in-human testing is expected to begin in Q1 2024 in the Dominican Republic and will collaborate with many respected institutions, such as the Cleveland Clinic, Baylor University, University of Nebraska and the University of California Los Angeles.On the Path Toward FDA Approval: Completed animal testing and upcoming first in-human trials are significant milestones on the company’s path towards US FDA approval, a necessity for making the Ocumetics Accommodating Lens available to US consumers. Ocumetics expects to receive US FDA approval within three-and-a-half years and will also pursue approval from the international ISO notifying body to make the product available in Europe.A Leader in the Race to Introduce New Solutions: Ocumetics is not the only company pursuing an intraocular vision enhancement product. The Ocumetics Lens is designed to take less than 3/100ths of a second to relax. The company expects many of its competitors’ products will not outperform in the area of dis-accommodation.
Management Team
Dean Burns – President and CEO
Dean Burns is recently retired from Alcon Vision, where he was a senior director of cataract instrumentation and advanced consumable technology, a US$750-million business of Alcon. At Alcon, Burns managed technologies in four therapeutic categories: cataract, refractive, retinal and pharmaceutical. His 27-year career with Alcon brings diverse healthcare experience to Ocumetics, which includes developing plans to commercialize acquired technologies and line extension of existing products. He also has skills and experience in marketing and sales management, manufacturing, comprehensive understanding of the regulatory process for devices, key opinion leader management and surgeon clinical training. Burns’ accomplishments include more than 15 FDA product approvals and five business development and licensing acquisition projects totaling US$2.3 billion.
Dr. Garth Webb – Founder/Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Garth Webb is the founder of Ocumetics with a mission to empower people to see and better experience the world. He has 45 years of experience in clinical eye care and applied vision science helping thousands of patients. Webb co-founded Complete Eye Care Optometry Clinic, one of Canada’s largest group practices of optometry. He is the sole inventor of the Bionic Lens and related intellectual property platform. Webb is a pioneer in the life-enhancing field of medical optics and refractive technologies. He is the founder of the Celebration of Sight Initiative, a not-for-profit organization commissioned to support three areas of critical need: reforestation/conservation, community services and consumer advocacy. He is the founder of VENTURA Health Sciences, established in 2008 to develop state-of-the-art functional dietary supplements that slow the progression of degenerative eye conditions. Recent developments have demonstrated promise in stimulating and propagating intracellular repair. Webb has pioneered and successfully commercialized delivery systems for non-preserved liquid pharmaceuticals thereby promoting better healing without any complications from contact. He served as the youngest chairperson on record for the Board of Examiners in Optometry in British Columbia, Canada.
Dr. Doyle Stulting – Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Doyle Stulting is the director of the Stulting Research Center, Woolfson Eye Institute in Atlanta, Georgia. He is a professor of ophthalmology emeritus at Emory University. He is an adjunct professor of ophthalmology at the Moran Eye Institute, Salt Lake City, Utah. Stulting is the former co-director of the Collaborative Corneal Transplantation Studies, a large, NIH-supported multi-center study of histocompatibility and corneal transplantation. He is a former investigator in a physician-sponsored clinical investigation of LASIK that was carried out before the FDA approved the first refractive laser in the United States. Stulting previously had a referral practice in cornea/external disease and performed routine and complex cataract surgery, as well as corneal transplantation. He has specialized in the management of keratoconus. Stulting is the principal investigator for five different clinical trials for corneal cross-linking. He was a member of the FDA Ophthalmic Devices Panel for 10 years, and he completed a term as chair of the panel in 1998. Stulting is the past president of the American Society for Cataract and Refractive Surgery.
Roger Jewett – Chief Financial Officer
Roger Jewett is a hands-on executive with more than 30 years of experience leading public and private companies through corporate restructurings, financing and growth. He has completed debt and equity financings for multiple companies of up to $70 million, and negotiated and closed the purchase or sale of more than 40 businesses. Jewett is the co-founder and director of Quantum Blockchain Technologies (CPC that merged with Ocumetics). He is the founder and CEO of Jump On Flyaways, an airplane-sharing service, led the development of proprietary software, and has appeared on the show Dragon’s Den. Jewett is the former CFO of Enerjet, a charter airline, leading the company from significant losses to multiple years of profitability and now operating as Lynx Airways. He is the former CEO of Rare Method, a TSX-V-listed interactive marketing firm, that became the second fastest-growing company in Alberta in 2007 and top 100 fastest-growing company in Canada in 2008. As former CFO of Resorts of the Canadian Rockies, a national ski resort operator, Roger led the company from financial difficulty to one of the best managed companies in Canada (National Post 1997-1998).