July 19, 2023 – the signing ceremony of the joint venture between Guangzhou Amvision Bio Technology Co., Ltd. and Australia Capricornia Contact Lens Pty Ltd was successfully held in Chengdu.
Amvision Bio, founded in 2014 and headquartered in Guangzhou, is a high-tech enterprise focusing on the research and development, transformation and sales of ophthalmic innovative medical devices. Capricornia, founded in 1985 in Brisbane, Australia, has been specializing in the R&D and production of contact lenses for over 35 years, and is the number one brand of contact lenses in Australia and New Zealand.
In March this year, Amvision Bio won the favor of Songhe Capital, CU Venture Capital and Huiji Capital, and completed nearly 100 million Yuan A+ round of financing, and in June, Capricornia’s scleral lenses – Epco, which was originally introduced by Amvision Bio, was approved for marketing. Apco belongs to Class III medical device and is the only scleral lens approved for marketing in China, which is mainly used to improve moderate-to-severe dry eye and correct irregular astigmatism caused by various reasons.
Mr. Lin Yongliang, the founder of Amvision Bio, talked about the story of Amvision Bio from a piece of amniotic membrane. In human embryonic development, amniotic membrane is the basement membrane collagen tissue of the human placenta, which surrounds and protects the embryo. Due to its biological properties, amniotic tissue can be used as a bioprosthetic material for indications such as conjunctival surface reconstruction, pterygium excision, surgical wounds, corneal ulcers, leg pressure and venous ulcers, and corneal limbal stem cell deficiency. In the field of ophthalmology, amniotic membrane is used to treat a number of ocular diseases and injuries. Examples include treating patients suffering from severe corneal disease, dry eye or other surface disorders, repairing or reconstructing damaged ocular surface tissue, strengthening tissue connections or filling corneal defects.
The wide range of indications for amniotic membranes points to a huge market space. according to Acumen Research and Consulting, the global amniotic membrane market size was $3.1 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach $10.2 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 14.2% from 2022 to 2030. In the market, suppliers usually freeze and dry the amniotic membrane to make freeze-dried amniotic membrane for easy transportation. However, even under freeze-preserved conditions, freeze-dried amniotic membrane still has a limited effective life span. Over time, its biological activity may decline, which in turn affects its therapeutic efficacy.
Amvision Bio sterilizes the amniotic membrane by irradiation with cobalt 60 γ-rays and adds its own Freshon preservation solution to the amniotic membrane to ensure its bioactivity. After such transportation and storage treatment, the biological structure of amniotic membrane Risuifu is consistent with fresh amniotic membrane, without rehydration, fit the wound, and the preservation period of up to 3 years.The data disclosed by Amvision Bio shows that its self-developed active wet biological amniotic membrane Risuifu formally listed in April 2020, and it has been listed on the network of 26 provinces, and has realized the full coverage of the domestic 500 tertiary hospitals, and entered into a number of listed ophthalmic hospitals, and its sales revenue is expected to break through the billion yuan mark this year. This year’s sales revenue is expected to exceed one hundred million dollars mark.
Just as the amniotic membrane has witnessed the development of human beings from embryos to adults, the amniotic membrane has also witnessed the growth and development of Amvision Bio. In the process of marketing and sales for amniotic membrane products, Amvision Bio saw another market in eye hospitals – the dry eye market. According to the epidemiological survey of dry eye disease, there are 344 million dry eye patients worldwide, accounting for 30% of ophthalmology outpatient visits. According to China Dry Eye Expert Consensus (2020), the incidence rate of dry eye disease in China is about 21%-30%, and it is estimated that there are at least 300 million patients nationwide.
Faced with a huge patient population and a fast-growing market space, Amvision Bio hopes to enter the dry eye market as fast as possible and take the first opportunity. After conducting comprehensive market research, Amvision Bio set its sights on Capricornia Contact Lens Pty Ltd, the No. 1 brand of scleral lenses in Australia and New Zealand, which was initially developed by Capricornia for the treatment of irregular astigmatism. Scleral lenses are specialized contact lenses, either rigid or soft, with shape and curvature characteristics that fit snugly into the sclera (sclera) of the eye to cover the surface of the eye. Scleral lenses can be used to correct vision problems such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism.
For patients suffering from dry eye or other eye conditions, scleral lenses can act as a protective barrier to keep the eye moist and relieve symptoms. Due to insufficient or abnormal quality of tears, patients with dry eye typically experience dryness and discomfort on the surface of the eye. Scleral lenses can create a stable lubrication chamber on the surface of the eye, allowing tears to flow between the scleral lens and the cornea to moisturize and lubricate.
Based on the original product, the approved scleral lens, Apco, has been optimized and designed for the Asian population, hitting the immediate clinical needs of patients with irregular astigmatism and patients with moderate-to-severe dry eye, filling a gap in the Chinese market for scleral lenses. Lin Yongliang talked about Amvision Bio’s experience in promoting EPCOR in the Hainan Free Trade Zone: “We found that when individual patients were being fitted for scleral lenses, they put on the fitting lenses and were reluctant to take them off. Because when the scleral lens is snapped in, it protects the patient’s damaged cornea and seals into a layer of tears, and that instant of wearing the adapted lens solves this problem of pain and discomfort on the patient’s eye surface.”
Amvision Bio will also be launching the world’s only FDA-approved scleral lens care device, “Apex Crystal,” which provides patients with a complete solution for scleral lens fitting, cleaning, and disinfection, and expects to achieve sales of approximately $100 million in products on sale this year.
Amvision Bio’s joint venture with Capricornia is the most optimal for both parties. First, Scleral Lens Apco has experienced global market validation.Capricornia founder Don Noack, a pioneer in the global contact lens industry and in modern keratoconus, was the first leading expert to propose computerization of the manufacturing process.Capricornia manufactures a full line of custom soft and rigid gas permeable lenses using a state-of-the-art, computer-controlled lathe that is capable of producing non-rotationally symmetrical geometries. Prior to approval, Capricornia had amassed over 50,000 successful fittings worldwide.
Secondly, Amvision Bio has established a sales network covering most of the nation’s eye hospitals (including tertiary hospitals) and is expanding its sales network to county hospitals. As the customer base of Amvision Bio’s active amniotic membrane products matches perfectly with that of scleral lens products, in the next promotion of scleral lenses, Mr. Lin Yongliang talked about how Amvision Bio can reach almost all the hospitals with which it has cooperated. capricornia maintains long-term research and clinical cooperation with Queensland University of Technology, University of New South Wales, and State University of New York, College of Optometry. Maintaining long-term research and clinical collaboration, in addition, Capricornia has strong R&D capabilities and user groups, specializing in a wide range of lens designs, winning various lens design awards, covering rigid scleral contact lenses, plasmapheresis lenses, rigid and soft corneal contact lenses.
Therefore, Apco will also capitalize on Capricornia’s advantages in contact lens product lines and introduce Capricornia’s ophthalmology products covering defocused soft lenses, soft astigmatism and multifocal contact lenses, as well as equip with the world’s leading automated production equipment, in an effort to build Apco into a global leading ophthalmology giant.Amvision Bio mentioned in the signing ceremony that The first cooperation project with Capricornia is to realize the transformation of overseas technology of scleral lenses in China and domestic scale production by the end of 2024, and it is expected to achieve an annual output value of 600 million yuan and an annual tax payment of more than 60 million yuan in 2025, and it will maintain an annual growth rate of more than 30%.
When talking about the future plan, Mr. Lin Yongliang mentioned that Amvision Bio hopes to cultivate the market deeply in the field of ophthalmology, optimize the company’s products, and provide patients with a full range of solutions for dry eye disease. On the basis of ocular surface products, Amvision Bio will also carry out a multi-track product layout, and plans to expand to glaucoma and optometry series, which will develop and transform ophthalmic innovative medical device products covering three business segments: ocular surface injury, youth myopia prevention and control, and glaucoma treatment, and provide multiple supporting products for each track.