Johnson & Johnson Vision Receives Approval in Canada for ACUVUE® Abiliti™ 1-Day Soft Therapeutic Lenses for Myopia Management

• First daily wear lens developed by Johnson & Johnson Vision as a breakthrough innovation specifically designed for slowing the progression of myopia in children
• Expands the growing portfolio of myopia management products and services from Johnson & Johnson Vision
• Soft contact lenses with novel ring focus technology may help address the progression of myopia in children¹
• Made of silicone hydrogel (senofilcon A) lens material, the same material as ACUVUE^® OASYS 1-Day contact lenses, which have never been beaten in comfort

JACKSONVILLE, FL – September 8, 2021 – Johnson & Johnson Vision, a global leader in eye health and part of the Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Companies‡, received approval from Health Canada for ACUVUE^® Abiliti™ 1-Day Soft Therapeutic Lenses for Myopia Management. Abiliti™ 1-Day lenses are a new option of daily wear, single-use, disposable lenses that have the potential to slow the progression of myopia and are specifically designed for children who are 7 to 12 years old at the start of treatment.

https://www.jjvision.com/press-release/johnson-johnson-vision-receives-approval-canada-acuvuer-abilititm-1-day-soft

Important public health measures such as the wearing of face masks have been widely implemented during the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, including larger community mandatory face mask use. During this time span, an increased number of patients with dry eye symptoms have been observed among habitual mask users who do not have a history of ocular surface pathology. Individuals have described feeling air blowing upward from the mask into their eyes, which is likely to enhance the evaporation of their tear film, resulting in ocular discomfort.

While wearing a face mask is critical for combating the COVID-19 epidemic, it is critical to understand the potential consequences for eye health.

Tang YF, Chong EWT. Face Mask-Associated Recurrent Corneal Erosion Syndrome and Corneal Infection. Eye Contact Lens. 2021 Sep 3. doi: 10.1097/ICL.0000000000000837. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34483243.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34483243/

Abstract

Purpose: To model juvenile-onset myopia progression as a function of race/ethnicity, age, sex, parental history of myopia, and time spent reading or in outdoor/sports activity.

Methods: Subjects were 594 children in the Collaborative Longitudinal Evaluation of Ethnicity and Refractive Error (CLEERE) Study with at least three study visits: one visit with a spherical equivalent (SPHEQ) less myopic/more hyperopic than -0.75 diopter (D), the first visit with a SPHEQ of -0.75 D or more myopia (onset visit), and another after myopia onset. Myopia progression from the time of onset was modeled using cubic models as a function of age, race/ethnicity, and other covariates.

Results: Younger children had faster progression of myopia; for example, the model-estimated 3-year progression in an Asian American child was -1.93 D when onset was at age 7 years compared with -1.43 D when onset was at age 10 years. Annual progression for girls was 0.093 D faster than for boys. Asian American children experienced statistically significantly faster myopia progression compared with Hispanic (estimated 3-year difference of -0.46 D), Black children (-0.88 D), and Native American children (-0.48 D), but with similar progression compared with White children (-0.19 D). Parental history of myopia, time spent reading, and time spent in outdoor/sports activity were not statistically significant factors in multivariate models.

Conclusions: Younger age, female sex, and racial/ethnic group were the factors associated with faster myopic progression. This multivariate model can facilitate the planning of clinical trials for myopia control interventions by informing the prediction of myopia progression rates.

Jones-Jordan LA, Sinnott LT, Chu RH, Cotter SA, Kleinstein RN, Manny RE, Mutti DO, Twelker JD, Zadnik K; CLEERE Study Group. Myopia Progression as a Function of Sex, Age, and Ethnicity. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2021 Aug 2;62(10):36. doi: 10.1167/iovs.62.10.36. PMID: 34463720.

While children with mild astigmatism are prescribed eyeglasses for a variety of reasons, including to relieve eye strain, a 12-year study casts doubt on the idea that spectacle correction can prevent strabismus or amblyopia in these children. According to findings published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology, 4-year follow-up rates for amblyopia were only modestly higher for those who wore glasses than for those who were only monitored.

https://www.ajo.com/article/S0002-9394(21)00396-2/fulltext