HOYA Vision Care Canada Announces 2024 Public Awareness Campaign Promoting MiYOSMART® Benefits for Children with Myopia

Over five million parents around the world have trusted MiYOSMART for their children since 2018

MISSISSAUGA, ON, Jan. 24, 2024 /CNW/ -- HOYA Vision Care, an industry leader committed to developing innovative MiYOSMART^® lens solutions to address the growing problem of myopia progression in children, announced today a public myopia awareness campaign to drive awareness about the short- and long-term impacts of myopia progression among children.

In an effort to better engage Canadian eye care professionals, HOYA will host an on-demand webinar in early 2024, offering ECPs the opportunity to hear from leading voices on myopia management, best practices for treatment, and practical information about setting up clinics to effectively treat myopia in children. In addition to attending industry trade shows, HOYA will increase its focus on supporting new opticians and graduates in the field of optometry throughout the year.

Additionally, in 2024, HOYA Canada will advance its leadership, offering the most complete portfolio to support every child's vision. Building on the successful launches of its MiYOSMART Chameleon photochromic and Sunbird polarized lenses in 2023, HOYA will expand MiYOSMART's availability and offer new innovative solutions to better address children's eyecare.

"As myopia management becomes more mainstream and we see more treatment options hitting the market it becomes more important than ever for ECPs to be savvy and look for sound evidence when choosing the right treatments for their patients," said Kim Kochendorfer, Manager of Professional Affairs at HOYA Vision Care Canada.

"The window of time that we have to make the most impact on a child's myopia progression is very narrow," said Debbie Jones, clinical professor at the School of Optometry and Vision Science and a lead clinical scientist at the University of Waterloo with a focus on pediatric optometry. "This is why we need to treat early with treatments that have strong evidence."

Across Canada and globally, HOYA Vision Care is committed to evidence-based myopia management and strives to bring this approach to the next level by empowering eye care professionals (ECPs) in their clinical practices. Its new Confidence Through Evidence campaign aims to educate ECPs about the importance of robust evidence in childhood myopia and bring attention to the 25+ scientific publications supporting MiYOSMART as the leading way to confidently manage myopia in their everyday clinical practice.

Most recently, HOYA Vision Care's Global Medical Affairs team launched a 3-year observational study in the United Kingdom to extend the reach of MiYOSMART benefits to European children with myopia. The study reached its 1-year milestone earlier this year, and the results were presented at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) conference in New Orleans, Louisiana.² Preliminary results of the study have demonstrated similar effectiveness of MiYOSMART spectacle lenses in Caucasian versus Asian children, particularly in children ages 8 to 13 years.^{1, 2} Most children were symptom-free within one week, showing great tolerability and acceptance.¹

The efficacy of MiYOSMART spectacle lenses, proven by a wide spectrum of evidence, has resulted in over 5 million MiYOSMART spectacle lenses having been purchased by parents across the world between its launch in 2018 and August 2023.³ With clinical evidence now extending to Europe, HOYA Vision Care will continue to help fight and control the growing problem of myopia around the world.

*MiYOSMART spectacle lenses have not been approved for use in the management of myopia in all countries, including the U.S., and are not currently available for sale in all countries, including the U.S.

About HOYA Vision Care
As a global leader in optical technology, HOYA Vision Care is dedicated to providing innovative vision care solutions for every stage of a patient's life. A steadfast partner to Eye Care Professionals around the world, it stands at the forefront of optical excellence. With a global presence, consisting of 43 laboratories and a growing team of 20,000 employees, HOYA Vision Care delivers innovative lenses and other vision care solutions to millions of people in 110 countries. For more information or to get in touch, visit www.hoyavision.ca.

References:
¹ 2-Year Multi-Site Observational Study of MiYOSMART myopia control spectacle lenses in UK children:1-year results (2023)
² Defocus Incorporated Multiple Segments (DIMS) spectacle lenses slow myopia progression: a 2-year randomised clinical trial. (2020)
³ Based on number of MiYOSMART spectacle lenses sold per HOYA sales data on file as of August 2023.

SOURCE HOYA Vision Care, Canada

Kim Kochendorfer, HOYA Vision Care, Canada, Email: [email protected]