Octane, Southern California’s leading tech and medtech accelerator announced its five LaunchPad SBDC Ophthalmology Tech Summit presenters. Over 100 ophthalmology companies applied and these startups represent the best of the best companies focused in ophthalmology that have been through our rigorous LaunchPad SBDC Accelerator.
Companies will have 10 minutes to present and pitch their company, followed by Q&A from a panel of investor judges. The LaunchPad SBDC presentations at Ophthalmology Tech Summit will take place on July 9th at Balboa Bay Resort in Newport Beach and streamed virtually. Read more about our prestigious five companies below.
Avisi Technologies- VisiPlate is a multichannel, ultrathin, and nonfibrotic glaucoma drainage implant. VisiPlate’s unique scale and mechanism of action are meant to translate to greater safety, efficacy, and quality of life for glaucoma patients. The underlying nanotechnology in VisiPlate is a shape-recovering, plate metamaterial developed at the University of Pennsylvania. Avisi has been funded by the National Science Foundation, Ben Franklin Technology Partners, Penn, and others. Avisi is a Johnson & Johnson JLABS company, a MedTech Innovator Accelerator alum, an Octane MedTech Innovation Forum Investors’ Award company, and a UCSF Rosenman Innovator.
Eyedetec- Dry Eye Disease (DED) significantly impacts quality of life, and the incidence is growing. Time spent on digital screens is adding to the problem. There is no cure, and available treatments often create anxiety, discomfort, and are costly. Eyedetec Medical has developed a novel, internet connected, non-invasive platform technology for treating DED patients. Treatment is initiated in the doctor’s office and continued in the patient’s home. The scalability of this approach enables doctors to meet growing demand while generating meaningful new revenue. This novel therapy is easier to use, more comfortable for the patient, and significantly less expensive than alternatives.
i-Lumen Scientific, Inc.- i-Lumen Scientific, Inc. is an ophthalmic company pioneering novel transpalbebral neurostimulation technology to treat retinal diseases, with a specific focus on Dry Age-related Macular Degeneration (Dry-AMD) and Geographic Atrophy (GA). Dry-AMD is a progressive disease and the leading cause of blindness in those over age 60, with 110 million afflicted globally (or 1 in 4 people), with no available treatments. Our clinician administered, office-based therapeutic delivers stimulation to the Retinal cells to help improve visual acuity and stop the progression of GA. In an Open Label Study, after the 5-day treatment regimen, more than 49.9% of eyes treated had an improvement in Visual Acuity of more than 10 letters as measured on the ETDRS Chart. i-Lumen represents a non-surgical, non-pharmacological solution to treat this progress disease.
LayerBio- LayerBio, Inc. is a clinical-stage MIT-spinout founded by Dr. Ken Mandell, a Harvard-trained ophthalmologist, and drug delivery expert Dr. Paula Hammond, MIT Chair of Chemical Engineering, to develop novel solutions for unmet needs in the field ophthalmology. LayerBio is raising $5 million to complete a randomized, controlled Phase 2 trial of its lead product, OcuRing-K™, a steroid-sparing implant for treatment of inflammation and pain from cataract surgery. More than $1.2B is spent annually on anti-inflammatory medications for cataract surgery in the U.S. alone. OcuRing-K™ is a highly disruptive technology with potential to capture a significant portion of this large growing market.
Recornea- Recornea is a pre-clinical stage medtech ophthalmic company developing corneal implants for treating keratoconus and corneal diseases. Currently, patients with keratoconus undergo two surgical procedures to stop the progression of the disease and improve vision of the patient. We developed an intra-corneal implant called the GROSSO implant made out of nitinol, a shape memory alloy, which imposes its own curvature that is similar to that of normal cornea thus reshaping deformed corneas back to their physiological shape. This will achieve both improvement in vision and stop progression in a single surgical step.
SmartLens- Smartlens, Inc. is a clinical-stage company with its portfolio of technologies for IOP monitoring and smart drug delivery. Smartlens is running clinical trials with miLens, the first device capable of monitoring IOP as a non-invasive, easy to use, electronics-free, and low-cost solution. Smartlens’ drug delivery technology works in combination with miLens IOP monitoring, personalizes the treatments and releases medications as needed. With its proven technologies and strong IP, Smartlens has the unique opportunity to improve how doctors manage the disease and envisions a world where Glaucoma can’t rob people of their vision and quality of life.
Learn more and register for Ophthalmology Tech Summit here.
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