Iridex secures large tender of ophthalmic laser equipment from Zambia government

Mountain View, CA-Iridex has been awarded a competitive tender for more than $350,000 in ophthalmology laser equipment by the government of Zambia.

"The incidence of diabetes continues to grow rapidly in many developing parts of the world, and with that comes the spread of related eye diseases . . . Health systems in many countries-because of logistics and cost, as well as a small number of ophthalmic specialists-cannot support the use of injectable drugs for these diseases, which typically includes a regular series of in-office treatments,” said Will More, IRIDEX president and chief executive officer. “Our laser-based treatments are as effective as drugs in terms of long-term outcomes, are much less costly to a healthcare system, and are much easier to administer from a logistics standpoint because they provide durable results."

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Moore added that the advances in laser-based therapies are also bringing in a paradigm shift in the United States and European ophthalmology markets, including diabetic macular edema (DME) and glaucoma treatments.

"The ability to now achieve durable results against the progression of DME and glaucoma, without harming healthy tissue poses an attractive option for physicians and their patients facing the high costs and low compliance rates associated with drug-only approaches," Moore said.