Tissue therapy company broadens reach in UK market
A tissue therapy spin-out from the University of Nottingham aims to improve treatment options for UK patients after receiving approval from the Association of British Dispensing Opticians.
NuVision Biotherapies is now allowed to have 1,700 contact lens opticians in the UK prescribe its treatments for various eye conditions.
ABDO has confirmed that these opticians will be covered under their existing professional indemnity insurance for prescribing NuVision’s Omnigen® and OmniLenz® to address various eye conditions, including corneal trauma and ocular surface disease.
To support the initiative, NuVision will offer a training program and certification for contact lens opticians, equipping them with the necessary knowledge to provide these treatments to their patients.
Based on 15 years of research at the University of Nottingham, NuVision’s products use dried amniotic membranes, which are secured on the eye’s surface by a special contact lens avoiding the need for surgery.
Their therapies utilise placental tissue (amniotic membrane) donated by women undergoing elective caesarean sections.
The combination of NuVision’s amniotic membrane (Omnigen®) and contact lens (OmniLenz®) has been used for over five years in more than 140 UK hospitals and 30 private centres, treating inflammation and damage to the eye’s surface due to traumatic injuries, eye surgeries, and chronic diseases.
Andy Hill, CEO at NuVision, said: “The decision by ABDO to allow its members to prescribe our therapies highlights their robustness and extensive clinical research behind them. We are looking forward to supporting contact lens opticians with their training and seeing the positive impact that Omnigen® and OmniLenz® will have on more patients across the UK.”
Ed Fox, head of membership, said “We are delighted to confirm that our CLO members who are part of the ABDO professional indemnity insurance scheme will be fully covered to deliver this type of treatment after completing their training and accreditation.”
ABDO clinical lead, Max Halford, added: “We are now working with the NuVision team to deliver a training programme for CLOs at the ABDO National Resource Centre in Birmingham.”
