Vycor Medical, Inc. Acquires Sight Science Limited, a Highly Complementary Business for NovaVision
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Prof. Sahraie will be responsible for driving NovaVision's scientific effort to develop and validate pioneering technologies in vision rehabilitation for visual field defects resulting from brain injury. The acquisition will also create a long-term relationship with the University of Aberdeen, a leading medical research center, and NovaVision will have a first option to acquire all related visual field deficit technologies developed within the University over a five-year period.
Sight Science was established in 2009 based on the research of Professor Arash Sahraie at the University of Aberdeen. Sight Science, which is owned jointly by Prof. Sahraie and the University of Aberdeen, provides an interactive computer-based therapy called Neuro-Eye Therapy ("NeET"), which patients administer at home. To date, over 100 patients have utilized NeET. The Company has a meaningful patent portfolio with patents granted in the UK, France, Germany, Switzerland and Singapore. Prof. Sahraie has conducted extensive research on blindsight and residual visual processing after brain injury, and is highly regarded in the field.
Both NovaVision's Vision Rehabilitation Therapy ("VRT") and Sight Science's NeET work on the basis that repeated stimulation of the blind areas by either bright patches of light (VRT) or the specific spatial patterns (NeET) can lead to increased sensitivity of the blind areas. Patients progress after VRT appears to be initiated at the blind and sighted borders whereas NeET results in changes deep within the field damage. Both therapies are able to demonstrate improvements in both visual sensitivity and activities of daily living. The two companies believe that their therapies are highly complementary.
Sight Science will represent a significant enhancement of NovaVision's operations:
Prof. Sahraie will further strengthen NovaVision's Strategic Advisory Board currently made up of: Alvaro Pascual-Leone, Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School and Director of Research at the Cognitive Neurology Unit at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Jason S. Barton, Professor of Neurology, Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of British Columbia; and Jose Romano, Chief of Stroke Division and Associate Professor of Neurology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
NovaVision views NeET as a strong complementary therapy to its existing VRT, and the merged entity intends to be able to deliver a combined therapy in due course which NovaVision believes will enhance patient outcomes and potentially increase market adoption and revenue growth.
Sight Science has a strong position in the UK and, together with NovaVision's operations in Germany, the Company believes that the acquisition will considerably strengthen NovaVision's ability to penetrate the European market and increase European revenues.
A strong alliance is created with the University of Aberdeen and NovaVision acquires an option on all future related technologies for a period of five years developed at the university.
Strengthens Vycor's patent portfolio, and provides valuable additional patents for the development of NovaVision's next generation of therapies.
David Cantor, the President of Vycor, commented: "We are delighted to be acquiring Sight Science, which we believe is a major strategic move and demonstrates our commitment to making NovaVision the 'Gold Standard' in Visual Rehabilitation. We are also thrilled that Professor Sahraie has agreed to join us as NovaVision's Chief Scientific Officer, bringing a wealth of knowledge and credibility in the field. He will work closely with NovaVision's Strategic Advisory Board to drive the scientific development of our therapies, products and overall scientific strategy."
Professor Sahraie, founder of Sight Science, commented: "Our two companies pride themselves in promoting technologies that improve life for those affected by blindness post brain injury. There is immense knowledge and expertise in both organizations and I believe this merger will enable the development of the next generation of innovative and pioneering technologies, leading to highly complementary therapies which would not have been available otherwise. I strongly believe that our combined therapies have the potential to become 'standard of care' worldwide and to reach all those affected by visual field defect after brain injury."
