Second Sight Announces Positive Five-Year Data from Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System

SYLMAR, California, July 25, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Study Results Published in Ophthalmology Show Safety and Sustained Improvement in Visual Performance for Blind Patients

Second Sight Medical Products, Inc. (NASDAQ: EYES) ("Second Sight"), the developer, manufacturer and marketer of implantable visual prosthetics that provide some useful vision to blind patients, today announced positive five-year outcomes associated with patients using the Argus® II Retinal Prosthesis System ("Argus II"). The Argus II captures images on an eyeglass-mounted miniature video camera, converts the images to electrical pulses, and then transmits those pulses wirelessly to electrodes implanted on the retinal surface, bypassing defunct retinal cells and stimulating the viable retinal cells in patients with severe to profound retinitis pigmentosa (RP).

The paper entitled "Five year safety and performance results from the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System Clinical Trial" follows the assessment of 30 subjects in the clinical trial (NCT00407602) implanted with the Argus II in 10 centers throughout the United States and Europe.^[1] All patients were blind (i.e., with bare light perception or worse) from RP or similar disorders. Throughout five years of clinical study, results showed that patients' visual function improved after implantation with the Argus II and these improvements were sustained over five years. Patients reported that using Argus II had a positive impact on their wellbeing, including a renewed connection with loved ones and the world around them. Results also demonstrated that the Argus II had an acceptable safety profile.

"For patients with RP who are living in darkness, the long-term benefits of the Argus II in restoring some useful vision represents a very meaningful milestone," said Lyndon da Cruz, MD, PhD, Consultant Retinal Surgeon at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and lead author for the study. "Perhaps most exciting is the proven ability of the Argus II to increase patients' functional vision. With the Argus II, patients can perform tasks that would not be possible without the device. This can be a life-altering change. It is good that we have now shown that these changes last for many years after implantation."