LifeSci

Leo Lens Pharma

Leo Lens Pharma is focused on helping protect sight. Initially, this focus will be used to help solve the glaucoma treatment problem. Leo Lens solves the glaucoma treatment problem with a non-invasive automatic dosing weekly therapy which helps limit the progression of the disease and helps protect sight.

Meet Leo Lens Pharma

Leo Lens Pharma (Leo Lens) is an emerging San Diego-based pharmaceutical company focused on helping protect sight. Using its proprietary MediPrint™ process, the Company will commercialize a drug-eluting, comfort-enhancing contact lens to treat millions of glaucoma patients worldwide. While eye drops have been around for over 40 years and remain the standard of care for over 90% of patients, they have only around a 50% compliance rate. This leads millions to suffer from disease progression and thousands to suffer from preventable blindness. There is a large unmet need for a better non-invasive treatment option in this $4B US market. Leo Lens' patented MediPrint™ process offers a unique value proposition for patients, practitioners, strategic partners, and payers. Leo Lens is currently focused on advancing its lead asset, a unique and complete glaucoma treatment, to the clinic while continuing to build out its product pipeline.

Why is your company the best option to solve the problem you're solving?

Leo Lens Pharma has developed a proprietary printing technology and ink called the MediPrint™ process, that can integrate with existing contact lens manufacturing equipment. Previous attempts to use contact lenses for drug delivery either (1) had issues with release kinetics limiting release to 24 hours or (2) needed expensive new lens manufacturing techniques that modified the lens and in some cases the drug, both resulting in limited to no commercial potential. The MediPrint™ process allows our lenses to have a sustained, continuous, preservative free release of bimatoprost via contact lenses, which may deliver more predictable and repeatable outcomes. Our goal has always been to check as many of the desirable attributes' boxes for successful drug delivery as possible, including: +High patient compliance +No adverse or minimal side effects +Continuous, controlled delivery of proven drugs +Demonstrated safety and efficacy +Cost-effective manufacturing +Good understanding of the marketing landscape, regulatory and clinical challenges And, we are well on our way to achieving this objective, which others have not attained in the past. Our lenses have a better chance of success because they get bimatoprost, in an uncompromised state, to the appropriate ocular treatment site, while maintaining its presence in the eye long enough to dispense an effective dose, with minimal side effects and without subjecting patients to unappealing procedures or to inconveniently frequent office visits."

What nuggets of info make you interesting? Why do people care about what you're doing?

Glaucoma affects over 80 million people worldwide, of which 65 million have primary open angle glaucoma. The disease is currently the second leading cause of blindness in the United States. Most patients are treated with eyedrops, which have known compliance issues leading patients to progress in the disease. Leo Lens solves the glaucoma treatment problem with a non-invasive automatic dosing weekly therapy which helps limit the progression of the disease and helps protect sight. Considering the millions of glaucoma patients diagnosed and treated in the U.S. alone, and the countless others who are undiagnosed or untreated currently, the advent of Leo Lens Pharma's complete solution for glaucoma treatment will benefit patients and eye care professionals alike.

What else do you want us to know?

Be good, do good, the rest will take care of itself. A motto of our founder and of our company.

BEHIND THE COMPANY

Founder/CEO: Dan Myers

What is your company's secret sauce?

Leo Lens Pharma has developed the MediPrint™ process, a proprietary printing technology that allows for the sustained, continuous release of ophthalmic drugs via contact lenses. The process is globally patented with seven patents granted in the United States and more pending. The company's lead proprietary asset is a lens to treat glaucoma. This lens is manufactured with the MediPrint™ process, which allows for the continuous delivery of FDA approved Bimatoprost for 7 days.

What inspired you (CEO/Founder) to start/run this company?

Our founder was inspired to invent the MediPrint™ technology after seeing the devasting impacts ocular diseases, such as glaucoma, had on his friends and family. Once you see a loved one or close friend lose their vision due to a preventable ocular disease it can really motivate you to innovate. He recognized the challenges with the current treatment options and with other attempts at continuous delivery of drugs to the eye. Using his contact lens manufacturing experience, he developed the MediPrint™ process to help protect sight for millions of patients.

What sets your company culture apart?

The company sets a culture of dedication and passion and plans to seek employees who are highly motivated and share Leo Lens' vision and breathes its passion of the greater good. We are fortunate to have a really good team who believes in our technology - they enjoy it, and they like the cause. Around the office we call it purpose beyond job. Working to help protect patients sight makes it easy to find such purpose in what we are doing.