Johnson & Johnson Vision eyes more innovations, investments in nation

Johnson & Johnson Vision, a global leader in eyecare and a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson MedTech, is doubling down its efforts on advancing its innovations and investments in China to offer more solutions to address a spectrum of patients' lifetime vision health from pediatric eyes to developed and aging eyes, said its top executive.

Peter Menziuso, company group chairman for Johnson & Johnson Vision, said during his recent visit to Shanghai: "China is one of our top markets for growth. We will continue to support investments in China.

"When you look at the Chinese population, the population growth projections and people's longevity, our role in supporting healthy sight for life is incredibly important for us in China."

The company offers solutions to address needs from protection to treatment, including contact lens brand Acuvue, fully automated treatment for meibomian gland dysfunction, extended depth of focus intraocular lenses and personalized laser vision correction.

Menziuso said the company's priority includes efforts to deliver solutions for the eye health needs of more than 44 million patients worldwide every year and to conduct more clinical studies specifically for the market, along with enhancing local manufacturing and more tailored ways to access customers and patients in China.

The chairman said the company is "really pleased with its performance last year and the first half-year in China".

According to Johnson & Johnson's financial report for the second quarter, its MedTech worldwide adjusted operational sales grew 9.9 percent year-on-year, driven primarily by electrophysiology products in interventional solutions, trauma in orthopedics, wound closure products in general surgery, biosurgery solutions in advanced surgery and contact lenses in vision. MedTech's worldwide operational sales grew 14.7 percent year-on-year.

"We have a strong foothold in the space of contact lenses in the country. We're pleased with what we're doing with our intraocular, which is refractive surgery," he said.

The company, which is world-leading in contact lens products, has continuously invested in innovations and diversified its products to address myopia in the country. Myopia, or nearsightedness, is a chronic and progressive disease where the eye grows abnormally long and can lead to significant vision complications later in life.

"If you look at today, a significant myopia progression exists in China — it affects 600 million people. Of them, the majority are teenagers. We must innovate in this space," said Menziuso.

To help tackle this illness, early this year, the research project Acuvue Abiliti, a silicone hydrogel myopia control soft lens, was launched by the company in Boao, Hainan province.

On top of solutions for myopia, the company "will continue to work on penetrations, and move into more cataract surgery as well", said the chairman.

Cataracts, the leading cause of blindness worldwide, affects a staggering 80 percent of people aged 60 to 89 in China.

The country is seeking to boost its business for health solutions for aging eyes. The National Eye Health Plan for the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) proposes to effectively increase coverage of cataract surgery, achieving a national cataract surgery rate of more than 3,500 per million population by 2025.

As the aging population continues to grow, the number of people suffering from cataracts has witnessed steady annual growth.

Five new products for treating cataracts have been launched this year by Johnson & Johnson Vision, including Tecnis Synergy IOL, which completed its first implantation in March in China.

This new generation of enhanced intraocular lenses can provide patients with cataracts and presbyopia with continuous vision from 33 centimeters to long distance, simulating the natural eye by enhancing image contrast sensitivity and improving vision quality in dim light.

Johnson & Johnson Vision has implemented the "1,000 Counties Project" and had conducted training courses in 190 counties across the country by 2022.

In addition, the Johnson& Johnson Vision Experience Center was inaugurated in April 2022 in Beijing, to provide ophthalmology professional training scenarios and courses to 300 to 400 young grassroots surgeons annually to enhance their surgical capabilities.