Pixium Vision (PA:PIX) is developing Prima, a potentially breakthrough wireless sub-retinal implant that generates electrical impulses at the retinal bipolar cell level to restore a form of central visual perception in patients with advanced retinal disease. While competing retinal implants generally target rare conditions involving near-total blindness, Prima seeks to address initially a larger unmet market indication, dry age-related macular degeneration (Dry-ARMD). Prima started human feasibility studies in late 2017 and could start EU pivotal trials in H119. Using a risk-adjusted NPV model, we obtain a pipeline rNPV of €77.4m, down from €82.6m previously.
Prima well-differentiated from epi-retinal devices
Prima could potentially offer sufficient improvements in visual acuity (VA) to provide benefit to patients with advanced Dry-ARMD. Animal data suggest Prima’s current chip iteration could provide up to 8% of the VA seen by healthy persons. Over 500,000 US Dry-ARMD patients have VA below this level. In contrast, competing epi-retinal devices (such as Second Sight’s Argus II) provide theoretical VA under 1%, limiting their applicability to rare retinal conditions that involve more profound vision loss. Another potential advantage of Prima is its miniaturised size (2x2mm) and wireless mode of operation which would enable a potentially shorter and less invasive surgical implantation procedure, as no trans-scleral wires are necessary.
To read the entire report Please click on the pdf File Below: