Retina Implant AG's International Clinical Results Presented for the First Time in Europe

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LONDON, Sept. 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Retina Implant AG, the leading developer of subretinal implants for patients blinded by retinitis pigmentosa (RP), today announced that Professor Eberhart Zrenner, Retina Implant's co-founder and lead clinical trial investigator and founding director of the Institute of Ophthalmic Research, University of Tuebingen, Germany, presented the 12-month visual and safety outcomes of 29 patients implanted with the Alpha IMS microchip at the European Society of Retina Specialists (EURETINA) annual congress. The conference, now in its 14th year, took place 11 September – 14 September 2014, at the ICC, ExCel London.

Following his presentation titled, "Visual outcomes in 29 blind retinitis pigmentosa patients with electronic subretinal implant Alpha-IMS" Professor Zrenner said, "EURETINA attracts leading ophthalmologists from all corners of the globe and was an ideal forum to present patient results after 12 months with the Alpha IMS microchip. Through the data, we conveyed safety of the Alpha IMS as well as evidence suggesting the device is capable of restoring impactful vision to patients with RP who were blind before implantation. We look forward to submitting our results for publication in a peer-reviewed journal to further educate the ophthalmology community on the improved vision our technology enables in patients blind from RP."

As part of the Vitreoretinal Surgery session on 11 September, Professor Zrenner highlighted several key findings from the study including:

• 86 percent of patients perceived light post-implantation;
• 59 percent of patients detected the source of the light; and
• Nearly half of patients reported useful visual experiences including recognition of shapes or details in daily life.

"We recently received NUB Innovation status in Germany, making our home country the first to offer insurance reimbursement for the Alpha IMS," said Walter-G Wrobel, CEO of Retina Implant AG. "Presenting these findings at EURETINA allows us to continue conversations with the world's most accomplished ophthalmologists and retinal specialists who are interested in being part of the future of vision restoration. These valuable partnerships will help tremendously as we work with more countries to establish reimbursement of our technology."

The multi-centre trial was led by Professor Eberhart Zrenner, founding director of the Institute of Ophthalmic Research, University of Tuebingen, Germany in partnership with Professor Robert MacLaren, professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Oxford and a consultant retinal surgeon at the Oxford Eye Hospital; Mr. Tim Jackson, Ph.D., consultant retinal surgeon at King's College Hospital London; Dr. Caroline Chee, senior consultant and head of Surgical Retina, National University Hospital, and clinical associate professor, National University of Singapore; Professor David Wong, chair professor in Ophthalmology and Director of the Eye Institute, University of Hong Kong; and Dr. Janos Nemeth, director of the Department of Ophthalmology at Semmelweis University in Budapest, Hungary. One of the co-authors, Professor Robert MacLaren, was awarded the EURETINA Lecture Certificate on the first day of the congress. Speaking at the Opening Ceremony, Professor MacLaren gave an overview of new research into retinal diseases, including Retina Implant's subretinal microchip technology.

The European Society of Retina Specialists (EURETINA) is Europe's largest society of retina specialists and includes members from more than 90 countries. EURETINA is committed to providing its members with the most up to date information on developments and studies in the retinal field, with the goal of enhancing retina health for patients. EURETINA's annual conference informs and educates retina specialists through main sessions, instructional courses and hands-on surgical skills training courses, didactic courses, key-note lectures, satellite symposia and free paper sessions. EURETINA is also proud to offer the annual Science & Medicine Innovation Award to visionaries in the retina health space.

More information about the event and Professor Zrenner's presentation can be found on the EURETINA website: http://www.euretina.org/london2014/default.asp.

For more updates from the congress please follow us on Twitter @RetinaImplant: https://www.twitter.com/RetinaImplant.

About Retina Implant AG

Retina Implant AG is the leading developer of subretinal implants for partially sighted and blind patients. After extensive research with German university hospitals and institutes which began with a large grant from the German Federal Ministry of Research and Education in 1996, Retina Implant AG was founded by Dr. Eberhart Zrenner, professor of Ophthalmology, University of Tuebingen, Germany and his colleagues in 2003 with private investors with the goal of developing a fully-functioning electronic retinal implant to restore useful vision to the blind. Retina Implant began implanting human patients in 2005 and started a second, larger clinical trial in 2010. In July 2013, Retina Implant's wireless subretinal implant technology, Alpha IMS, received CE mark. To learn more, visit http://www.retina-implant.de/. 

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SOURCE Retina Implant AG