Lausanne, Switzerland, 16 January 2023. Rheon Medical SA announced today that it has formed its scientific advisory board (SAB), comprised of leading glaucoma experts. The SAB will work closely with Rheon’s management to advance the company’s clinical program, including the upcoming FDA clinical trial, and provide scientific and clinical input for Rheon’s future product pipeline.
The members of Rheon’s SAB are Prof. Ike Ahmed (Univ. of Toronto, Canada, and Univ. of Utah, USA), Dr. Karl Mercieca (Univ. of Bonn, Germany), Dr. Konrad Schargel (Glaucoma Division Chairman, King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital, Saudi Arabia) and Dr. André Mermoud (Swiss Visio Network, Switzerland).
“We are excited to bring together to this scientific board glaucoma experts with international aura and very deep knowledge of glaucoma drainage devices. Their clinical expertise and advice are most valuable to us. With their help, we are looking forward to extending our footprint in Europe and the Middle East and successfully carrying out the US clinical program,” said Nikos Stergiopulos CEO of Rheon Medical.
Commenting on the potential and clinical benefits of the eyeWatch technology, Prof. Ike Ahmed added: “Titration is the holy grail for glaucoma surgery, to provide an ability to dynamically adjust flow for individual patient needs at specific postoperative time points. The eyeWatch glaucoma shunt, with its titratable flow control, is a major step forward in protecting from early hypotony while allowing for added IOP reduction as needed.”
About the eyeWatch system
Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness affecting more than 80 million people worldwide. Glaucoma is most often due to an increase in intraocular pressure (IOP), which may result in damage to the optic nerve and, if untreated, in vision loss. Aqueous shunts (glaucoma drainage devices) have been increasingly used to lower IOP and they are now considered by many to be the first-line surgical intervention. Presently marketed shunts exhibit post-surgical complications at a high rate and often lead to surgical failures, a significant part of which can be attributed to the lack of IOP control. The eyeWatch device is a unique ocular implant, with its external control device allowing the possibility to act on intraocular pressure non-invasively. Its unique adjustment capability efficiently reduces IOP while limiting hypotony and related complications. The eyeWatch has received regulatory clearance (CE mark) in Europe in 2019. For details on the technology and the clinical benefits please see www.rheonmedical.com.
About Rheon Medical SA
Rheon Medical is a privately held Swiss medical device company, a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL). Rheon Medical specializes in glaucoma surgery and, specifically, in glaucoma drainage devices (GDD). Its mission is to provide optimal solutions to the surgical therapy of glaucoma. Rheon Medical is ISO13485 certified.
