Menicon Co., Ltd. (head office: 3-21-19 Aoi, Naka-ku, Nagoya, Japan; President and COO: Koji Kawaura) announces that “ROSE K®” was launched in China by Itabashi Medical (Dalian) Co., Ltd., a Chinese subsidiary, in April 2023.
ROSE K® is a hard contact lens designed for keratoconus sufferers. Approximately 1.67 million ROSE K® lenses have been sold in more than 90 countries worldwide. Manufactured at the Menicon plant, as well as in certified factories worldwide with Menicon as a license holder, these lenses are marketed as “Menicon Rose K-T” approved for “keratoconus use” in Japan.
Keratoconus is an eye disease in which the cornea bulges like a cone. As the disease progresses, glasses or regular contact lenses do not provide adequate vision. According to a recent study, keratoconus is prevalent in 0.9% of the population,(1) and the number of potential patients in China is estimated at 13 million. Lenses intended for keratoconus have not become sufficiently ubiquitous in China, so China is considered to be the greatest potential market for ROSE K® lenses worldwide.
Available in four design variations (ROSE K2, ROSE K2 IC, ROSE K2 NC, and ROSE K2 PG) according to the shape of the cornea, ROSE K® has a complex geometry that customized to suit the keratoconus shape. In China, “Menicon Z (E-1),” which has a similar design, has already been launched and is widely prescribed by physicians. The addition of ROSE K® to the lineup will enable users to select an appropriate lens to match the shape of their corneas.
ROSE K® is manufactured by Wenzhou FocuSee Vision Care Technologies Co. Ltd., Menicon group company; distributed by Itabashi Medical (Dalian) Co., Ltd.; and sold through prescribing physicians in various parts of China. We aim to expand the sales of our product through the sales network for Menicon’s care products for hard lenses.
As we announce today the launch of Menicon Z Night in China, Menicon is actively developing and marketing various specialty lenses. Among them, the ROSE K® lenses introduced here can support activities of daily living by providing better visual acuity to many patients worldwide who suffer from vision problems related to misshaped corneas, including keratoconus. We will continue to contribute broadly to society by further improving such products as the E-1 design and ROSE K®.
(1) Xu L, Wang YX, Guo Y, et al.(2012) “Prevalence and associations of steep cornea/keratoconus in Greater Beijing.” The Beijing Eye Study. PLoS One. 2012;7;e39313.