Second Sight Announces Market Entry into Iran with First Two Implants of Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System

- Marks Continued Global Expansion of Argus II for Individuals Blinded by Retinitis Pigmentosa -

 

SYLMAR, Calif. -- Second Sight Medical Products, Inc. (NASDAQ: EYES) ("Second Sight" or "the Company"), a developer, manufacturer and marketer of implantable visual prosthetics that are intended to create an artificial form of useful vision to blind patients, today announced market entry into Iran, implanting the first two patients with the Company’s Argus® II Retinal Prosthesis System (“Argus II”). The implant was facilitated by the country’s exclusive distribution partner, Arshia Gostar Darman Co. Ltd.

 

“These first implants in Iran are part of our strategy to selectively target and partner with leading eye centers and distribution partners around the world in order to increase the availability of the Argus II to individuals with Retinitis Pigmentosa. The adoption of Argus II by a growing number of centers globally is a testament to the increasing acceptance of our technology,” said Will McGuire, Chief Executive Officer of Second Sight.

The implants were performed in Shiraz, Iran during November 2017 by Professor Mohsen Farvardin and his team at the Shiraz Pars Hospital and Khalili Hospital, Shiraz Medical Science University in 44-year-old and 33-year-old patients with Retinitis Pigmentosa.

 

Professor Emin Özmert from the University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology, Ankara, Turkey acted as a supporting surgeon.

 

About the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System

 

Second Sight's Argus II System provides electrical stimulation that bypasses the defunct retinal cells and stimulates remaining viable cells inducing visual perception in individuals with severe to profound Retinitis Pigmentosa. The Argus II works by converting images captured by a miniature video camera mounted on the patient's glasses into a series of small electrical pulses, which are transmitted wirelessly to an array of electrodes implanted on the surface of the retina. These pulses stimulate the retina's remaining cells, intending to result in the perception of patterns of light in the brain. The patient must learn to interpret these visual patterns, having the potential to regain some visual function. The Argus II was the first artificial retina to receive widespread commercial approval, and is offered at approved centers in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Further information on the benefits and risks can be found in the peer reviewed paper at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0161642016305796

 

About the OrionTM Visual Cortical Prosthesis System

 

Second Sight, the manufacturer of the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System (Argus II), has developed a new device, the Orion. A proof-of-concept clinical trial at UCLA demonstrating the viability of stimulation of the human visual cortex with a commercially available device from a different manufacturer was announced in Q4 2016. First-in-human clinical studies with the Orion are planned to begin in 2017. Like the Argus II, the idea behind Second Sight’s Orion is to convert images captured by a miniature video camera mounted on the patient's glasses into a series of small electrical pulses. The Orion is designed to transmit these electrical pulses wirelessly to an array of electrodes implanted on the surface of the visual cortex, intended to result in the perception of patterns of light. By bypassing the retina and optic nerve and directly stimulating the visual cortex, a cortical prosthesis system has the potential to restore useful vision to patients completely blinded due to many reasons, including glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, or forms of cancer and trauma – many fold more patients than for the current Argus II indications. No clinical data is yet available for the Orion.

 

About Second Sight

 

Second Sight's mission is to develop, manufacture and market innovative implantable visual prosthetics to enable blind individuals to achieve greater independence. Second Sight has developed, and now manufactures and markets, the Argus® II Retinal Prosthesis System. Enrollment has been completed in a feasibility trial to test the safety and utility of the Argus II in individuals with Dry Age-Related Macular Degeneration. New hardware and software to improve the quality of the vision produced is underway. A clinical trial to study the Argus II in better-sighted subjects earlier in the disease was recently approved in Germany. Second Sight is also developing the Orion™ Visual Cortical Prosthesis to restore some vision to individuals who are blind due to causes other than preventable or treatable conditions. U.S. Headquarters are in Sylmar, California, and European Headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland. For more information, visit www.secondsight.com.

 

Safe Harbor

 

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are intended to be covered by the "safe harbor" created by those sections. All statements in this release that are not based on historical fact are "forward looking statements." These statements may be identified by words such as "estimates," "anticipates," "projects," "plans," or "planned," "seeks," "may," "will," "expects," "intends," "believes," "should," and similar expressions, or the negative versions thereof, and which also may be identified by their context. All statements that address operating performance or events or developments that Second Sight expects or anticipates will occur in the future, such as stated objectives or goals, or that are not otherwise historical facts, are forward-looking statements. While management has based any forward-looking statements included in this release on its current expectations, the information on which such expectations were based may change. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, as a result of various factors including those risks and uncertainties described in the Risk Factors and in Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations sections of our Annual Report, on Form 10-K, as filed on March 16, 2017, and our other reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We urge you to consider those risks and uncertainties in evaluating our forward-looking statements. We caution readers not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Except as otherwise required by the federal securities laws, we disclaim any obligation or undertaking to publicly release any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained herein (or elsewhere) to reflect any change in our expectations with regard thereto, or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

 

 

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171205005878/en/

 

Contacts:

 

Investor Relations:

Institutional Investors

In-Site Communications, Inc.

Lisa Wilson, 212-452-2793

President

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or

Individual Investors

MZ North America

Greg Falesnik, 949-385-6449

Managing Director

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Source: Second Sight Medical Products, Inc.