Novartis buys Amblyotech to develop digital therapy for amblyopia

Novartis has recently made an announcement confirming that it has concluded its acquisition of Amblyotech, which is a software startup based in the U.S. Novartis will collaborate with McGill University and Ubisoft to be able to continue with the development of Amblyotech’s acquired digital tech for treating amblyopia, or “lazy eye”.

Apparently, there have been estimations regarding the amblyopia affecting about 3% of the world population. Some of these people can be appropriate candidates for the therapy when it gets approved. The condition generally results in poor vision and various other problems with the quality of life, if it is left untreated.

The condition is capable of impacting both adults and children beyond their vision that makes it difficult to both maintain and drive a sense of autonomy. There are various options for treatment currently, that include atropine and patching, which are mostly associated with a lower sense of compliance as well as a low rate of success. The adults have a limited set of approved therapies.

Reportedly, Amblyotech is aimed at improving compliance and it uses passive video and active gaming technology with 3D glasses, which trains the eyes for working together in order to view a complete image. The software employs a visual representation, which is called dichoptic display, wherein each eye is offered different images by using a proprietary algorithm.

The software of Amblyotech had shown big improvements in children as well as adults vision in the early clinical study as compared to the ones with standard care and treatment.

Global Business Franchise Head for Ophthalmology, Nikos Tripodis stated that the software of Amblyotech is an excellent example how the company can recreate medicines by using digital technology, as the firm offers a solution that is non-invasive and has the potential to be considerably faster than compared to the current care standards like patching for adults and children who have been impacted by lazy eye.

 

Source Credit- https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/04/20/2018335/0/en/Novartis-acquires-Amblyotech-pursuing-novel-digital-therapy-for-children-and-adult-patients-with-lazy-eye.html