SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Leo Lens Technology announced that its unique drug delivery contact lens product has been selected as a finalist in Connect w/ San Diego Venture Group’s Most Innovative New Product Awards (MIP). Connect w/ SDVG, a premier innovation company accelerator in San Diego that creates and scales great companies in the technology and life sciences sectors, continues its thirty-two year tradition of celebrating innovation leaders in the local San Diego community.
Leo Lens Technology (LLT) uses its patented platform technology to harness the power of high-tech digital printing to commercialize a drug-eluting, comfort-enhancing contact lens product to treat millions of patients worldwide. The idea is simple – use a contact lens to deliver drugs topically to patients instead of using eye drops, since over 50% of patients on eye drops have poor compliance leading to disease progression and potentially blindness. Their first product is a lens to treat glaucoma, called the silent thief of vision and the second leading cause of blindness, with a contact lens releasing FDA approved bimatoprost. Their mission is for their drug delivery contact lens product to help prevent avoidable blindness in the 70+ million patients suffering from glaucoma today.
A few benefits of the drug delivery contact lens product are:
- Continuous automatic drug delivery for 7 days and nights
- Increased patient compliance, which may lead to better outcomes
- Less side effects, as the lens is preservative free
- Cost effective, since the technology integrates with existing contact lens manufacturing
“Our team is excited and honored to be recognized as a finalist for this award. A lot of effort has gone into getting our product ready for clinical evaluation. We are enthused to get our innovative product that meets many needs of patients, doctors, and manufacturers in patients’ eyes soon.” Praful Doshi, CEO.
Finalists were selected in the following seven categories: Big Data, Cleantech, Defense, Life Sciences & Healthtech, Medical Device, Smart City & Transportation, and Software.
The 2019 MIP Awards presentation will be held at the Innovation Awards dinner on December 5 at the Hyatt Regency La Jolla at Aventine, 3777 La Jolla Village Drive, San Diego, CA 92122. Each of the finalists will be featured in the Innovation Showcase and the winner in each category will be announced live during the dinner.
For a complete list of winners and additional information, please visit the Connect’s website (http://www.connectsd.org/innovation-awards).
About Leo Lens Technology
Leo Lens Technology (LLT) is an emerging San Diego-based company focused on using its unique platform technology to commercialize a drug-eluting, comfort-enhancing contact lens to treat millions of patients worldwide. While eye drops have been around for over 40 years and remain the standard of care for over 90% of patients, they have only around a 50% compliance rate. This leads millions to suffer from disease progression and thousands to suffer from preventable blindness. There is a large unmet need for a better non-invasive treatment option in this $10B US market. LLT’s patented technology offers a unique value proposition for patients, practitioners, strategic partners, and payers. LLT is currently focused on getting its lead asset, a lens to treat glaucoma, to the clinic while continuing to build out its product pipeline. LLT had a successful pre-IND meeting with the FDA to confirm its regulatory strategy and will soon be submitting an IND for the glaucoma product.
For more information please visit www.leolens.com.
About Connect w/ San Diego Venture Group
For more than 30 years, both Connect and San Diego Venture Group have focused on supporting and elevating entrepreneurs in the San Diego region. Combining the deep histories and wide successes of each organization creates a powerhouse of resources such as mentorship, education, and capital for innovators. Connect w/ San Diego Venture Group serves entrepreneurs and startups throughout their growth journey, from early stage to capital raise, with a suite of curated programs and events aimed to help companies grow, gain access to capital, and scale.
