Charenton-le-Pont, France (October 14, 2022) – Myopia is becoming an increasingly concerning world health issue, with prevalence levels projected to rise every year¹.

The partnership between Myopia Profile, the premier international educational platform for myopia management, and EssilorLuxottica, a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of ophthalmic lenses, frames and sunglasses, sought to address the growing, imminent need for best practice myopia management among eye care practitioners who will need to address the global increase in myopia prevalence in our younger population. The partnership has seen a huge boost in engagement with Myopia Profile’s educational platforms among eye care practitioners, particularly with spectacle lens topics, with a 10-fold growth in search terms for ‘myopia control spectacles lenses’ among eye care practitioners over the last year, and a 4-fold increase in searches by members of the public.

“There has been a colossal increase in engagement with our digital platforms since we started our partnership with EssilorLuxottica,” says Dr. Kate Gifford, founder and director of Myopia Profile. “We have seen doubling growth year-on-year, and are thrilled to see the myopia message spreading wider and wider – but we can also see where there is more work to do. We can see that there is definitely a thirst for knowledge and information with regard to myopia-control spectacle lenses, and we aim to provide more of that, through our partnership with EssilorLuxottica.”

EssilorLuxottica and Myopia Profile plan on releasing a series of podcasts that cover clinical communication in myopia management, as well as the practice fundamentals of getting started in managing childhood myopia. The exclusive podcasts will offer engaging 10-minute episodes with a focus on providing simple steps and practical advice to eye care practitioners. They will be housed exclusively on EssilorLuxottica’s new learning platform, Leonardo.

“Myopia control spectacle lenses is one of the biggest growth topics amongst eye care practitioners that engage with MyopiaProfile.com and our other digital platforms – it is clear that they want to know more about it,” explains Dr. Gifford, “and it’s also important to keep step with increasing awareness in the public and for parents as well. Everyone should understand the risks of myopia and the best methods of treatment, because it isn’t just about a pair of spectacles – it’s about giving children the best possible vision now, and protecting their eye health into adulthood as well.”

“We are very pleased to see such progress from our partnership with Myopia Profile, an organization that shares our vision for the future, to encourage more adoption of myopia control solutions, and contribute to better vision and eye health for children”, says Olga Prenat, Head of Medical Marketing, Professional Relations and Vision Care Education, EssilorLuxottica. “As leaders committed to improving vision in the world, we look forward to accomplishing more together, to continue sharing the wealth of knowledge and resources on myopia in order to enhance knowledge and practice among eye care professionals, in line with our mission to help people ‘see more and be more’.”

Other key highlights of the partnership include:

A video lesson by Dr. Kate Gifford for EssilorLuxottica’s myopia management certification program titled ‘Moving beyond myopia correction to control’ available on Leonardo.

New content releases supported by EssilorLuxottica, where the latest reports from the International Myopia Institute are detailed, along with what these new findings mean for clinical practice, and case studies with take-home messages.

^1. Holden BA, Fricke TR, Wilson DA, Jong M, Naidoo KS, Sankaridurg P, Wong TY, Naduvilath TJ, Resnikoff S. Global Prevalence of Myopia and High Myopia and Temporal Trends from 2000 through 2050. Ophthalmology. 2016 May;123(5):1036-42.

DOWNLOAD THE PRESS RELEASE