HONG KONG, 9 November, 2022 – Zhaoke Ophthalmology Limited (“Zhaoke Ophthalmology” or “the Company”, SEHK: 6622), a leading ophthalmic pharmaceutical company dedicated to the research, development, manufacturing and commercialization of treatments that address significant unmet medical needs, is pleased to announce that the Company has reached an exclusive distribution agreement on TONO-i with C&V Tech, a leading company in the development of medical devices for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of glaucoma. Under the terms of the agreement, the Company has exclusive rights to register, import, promote, distribute, market and sell TONO-i in Greater China.

TONO-i is an innovative tonometer designed to be contactless, portable, self-measuring, convenient and affordable. Therefore, unlike conventional contact-type tonometers, TONO-i is safe to use without the need for anaesthesia: patients will feel no pain, and there is no risk of contamination.

Self-measurement of intraocular pressure (“IOP”) is a paradigm shift in glaucoma management. TONO-i will become an integral part of the Company’s glaucoma franchise to address the unmet need of low diagnosis and treatment rates in China. It provides a tool for ophthalmologists to monitor patients’ IOP conveniently, accurately and thoroughly through self-measurement. It will likely improve patient compliance for glaucoma drug treatment by giving instant and continuous feedback on its efficacy. Inclusion of TONO-i in the Company’s pipeline signifies the Company’s commitment to both treatment and diagnosis in glaucoma management.

Dr. Li Xiaoyi (Benjamin), Chairman of the Board, Executive Director and CEO of Zhaoke Ophthalmology, said, “Glaucoma has always been one of the major causes of blindness globally, including in China. The low diagnosis rate of only 20% in China and the accelerated domestic aging population are consistently the reasons for the increase in glaucoma patients in the country. Through bringing our innovative tonometer TONO-i to the market, we aim to improve the low diagnosis and treatment rates of glaucoma in China. We strongly believe that a combination of drug therapy and medical device use could deliver the best treatment options for patients with ophthalmic diseases.”

About Glaucoma 

According to China Insights Consultancy, glaucoma, the second-leading cause of blindness worldwide, is a chronic and progressive disease associated with high IOP, resulting in optic nerve damage. The IOP is determined by the balance of the rate of fluid production versus fluid drainage in the eye. Substantially all the glaucoma cases are primary glaucoma, which can be generally classified into two types, open-angle glaucoma and angle-closure glaucoma. In China, approximately 40% of the primary glaucoma cases are open-angle glaucoma.
In China, the number of glaucoma patients grew from 13.4 million in 2015 to 15.3 million in 2019. Driven by the accelerating aging population, the number of glaucoma patients in China is expected to further grow to 20.0 million in 2030. In addition, the diagnosis rate of glaucoma is expected to increase significantly from 20.0% in 2019 to 60.6% in 2030.

About C&V TECH 

C&V Tech was founded by Dr. Jin-Hui Kang at Wonju Medical Device Techno-Valley in South Korea in 2015. C&V Tech received major investments from Daewoo Pharmaceutical Co. (“Daewoo Pharma”) as a strategic partner, and Dr. Yong-Hoon Ji, an ophthalmologist from Seoul National University and now the CEO of Daewoo Pharma. Dr. Kang, with over 25 years’ experience in biotech research and entrepreneurship, including leading positions at Samsung Medical Center Life Science Research Institute, focused on the unmet needs in glaucoma patient care and invented a self-measurable tonometer, TONO-i. Daewoo Pharma, with its specialization in ophthalmology, has assisted in the development of TONO-i by C&V Tech,
and is actively marketing this innovative product internationally.