The LIRIC technology is being developed to enable superior visual performance across multiple applications, including myopia, hyperopia, and sports vision. But our first expected contact lens product will target the presbyopia market. Presbyopia is a ubiquitous age-related condition that usually begins to affect people in their 40s, resulting in a decreased ability to focus on near objects due to a loss of flexibility in the eye’s natural lens. This leads to symptoms such as eyestrain, headaches, and difficulty reading, which can significantly impact a person’s quality of life. Currently, presbyopia is typically managed with corrective eyewear or with multifocal contact lenses. These lenses contain different prescriptions for near and distance vision, allowing wearers to see better at both distances without having to constantly switch between multiple pairs of glasses.

The multifocal contact lens market for presbyopia is already significant, with millions of people worldwide using these lenses for vision correction. This growth is primarily due to the increasing prevalence of presbyopia globally, particularly in aging populations in developed countries. However, traditional multifocal contact lenses have limitations, such as reduced visual acuity and the presence of halos and glare, which can cause discomfort and significantly affect the user’s visual experience.

Improving multifocal contact lenses to overcome these limitations presents an opportunity to capture a much larger share of the growing presbyopia market. This is where LIRIC technology becomes critical. Our advanced multifocal contact lenses, which utilize LIRIC to embed diffractive optics into these lenses, have the proven ability to significantly improve visual acuity and reduce side effects such as halos and glare. Once these lenses are brought to market successfully, the growth of the multifocal contact lens market for presbyopia is likely to significantly accelerate, and to expand even further as the aging of the population continues.