ECPs and families nationwide are celebrating an important anniversary this month! It’s been one year since the MiSight® 1 day contact lens became the first and only FDA-approved* contact lens for slowing the progression of myopia in children, who at initiation of treatment are 8-12 years of age.1†
The statistics are staggering. More than 40 percent of Americans have myopia and that number is increasing at an alarming rate, especially among school-aged children.2 MiSight® 1 day’s FDA approval means that there is finally an approved option to address this growing epidemic. MiSight® 1 day contact lenses have been shown to reduce the rate of myopia progression in children (aged 8-12 at the initiation of treatment) on average by 59% over a three-year period.1 Moreover, the latest findings reveal that nearly one in four children originally fit with MiSight® 1 day had their myopia remain stable after six years.3
Much progress has been made over the past year. Myopia management has entered the mainstream with a clinically proven1† product and 2,000 ECPs have become certified Brilliant Futures™ Myopia Management Program prescribers with patients increasing daily. In August, CooperVision launched a multichannel, direct-to-consumer advertising campaign featuring television actress, producer, and entrepreneur Sarah Michelle Gellar. Believed to be the world’s largest-ever consumer myopia management awareness initiative, its educational messages have generated more than 800 million impressions to date and driven consumers into certified eye care professionals’ offices.
First Fitter Perspectives
“Several years ago, we created a myopia control clinic within our practice,” said Dr. Dwight Barnes, OD of Cary Family Eye Care in Cary, NC. “In March, we became a certified Brilliant Futures™ program and MiSight® 1 day prescriber. Patients are finding value because the program clearly lays out how it can help with the problem of progressive myopia. I’ve been myopic my whole life so I understand the frustrations and concerns. I went through it all, so I definitely share my story.”
Dr. Paula Mintchell, OD, at Vision Art Eye Care in Naperville, IL currently has six patients using MiSight®. One girl in her practice who has been using MiSight® 1 day lenses is thrilled with the wearing experience. “Shifting from glasses to MiSight® has increased her confidence and given her freedom. Without having her glasses fog or slip off, her soccer playing has improved, she’s able to read comfortably, she’s feeling productive at school. Overall, it’s been quite life changing for her,” she said. Dr. Mintchell has found MiSight® very easy to fit and for age-appropriate patients to use. “I think part of being a good family practice optometrist is to be able to offer the latest technology that’s FDA approved*.”
For parents, that approval makes all the difference. “Their eyes light up a bit, and I think that’s going to turn MiSight® 1 day lenses into one of the go-tos in the practice,” explained Dr. Alexander Elson of 17th Street Optometry in Tustin, CA. “It’s nice to have a program with an established company behind it. And with the FDA approval* of MiSight® lenses, CooperVision can actually claim that it can slow the progression of myopia and that’s huge.”
Since myopia progresses more during the winter months due to less daylight exposure,4 continued adoption and program enrollment will be more important than ever in the days and weeks to come. CooperVision is grateful to the ECPs who have already joined in the fight against myopia and look forward to welcoming others in the effort. It will take all of us - ECPs, pediatricians, school nurses, parents and others - to continue to make a positive impact in the face of this disease.
Are You a Brilliant Futures™ Certified ECP?
Certified ECPs can login to MiSightPro.com to access custom graphics to use on social media and your website to celebrate the first anniversary of MiSight® 1 day FDA approval.
If you are not yet certified to prescribe Brilliant Futures™, please consider joining the effort to slow the progression of myopia. To learn more, please visit https:// .com/practitioner/myopia-management.
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*MiSight® 1 day ( A) soft (hydrophilic) contact lenses for daily wear are indicated for the correction of myopic ametropia and for slowing the progression of myopia in children with non-diseased eyes, who at the initiation of treatment are 8-12 years of age and have a refraction of -0.75 to 4.00 diopters (spherical equivalent) with ≤ 0.75 diopters of astigmatism. The lens is to be discarded after each removal.
†Compared to a single vision 1 day lens over a 3 year period.
[1]Chamberlain P, et al. A 3-year randomized clinical trial of MiSight® lenses for myopia control. Optom Vis Sci. 2019; 96(8):556-67.
2Cooper, Y. (2019, May 1). With Childhood Myopia Rates on the Rise, the American Optometric Association Highlights the Importance of Early Intervention through Annual Eye Exams. Retrieved from https://www.aoa.org/newsroom/myopia-rates-on-the-risesyvm
3Chamberlain P, Logan N, Jones D, Gonzalez-Meijome J, Saw S-M, Young G. Clinical evaluation of a dual-focus myopia control 1 day soft contact lens: 6-year results (2020 American Academy of Optometry Annual Meeting).
4Rusnak S, Salcman V, Hecova L, Kasl Z. Myopia Progression Risk: Seasonal and Lifestyle Variations in Axial Length Growth in Czech Children. J Ophthalmol. 2018 Mar 6;2018:5076454
