Avedro Acquires Patent Portfolio for Breakthrough Transepithelial Riboflavin

Avedro, Inc announced today that it has acquired all the intellectual property rights to produce, market, and distribute a breakthrough transepithelial riboflavin formulation based on the research of Roberto Pinelli, MD at the Istituto Laser Microchirurgia Oculare (ILMO) in Brescia, Italy.

Avedro’s proprietary and patent pending transepithelial ParaCel™ riboflavin formulation is based on early research by Dr. Pinelli (www.avedro.com). ParaCel provides a transepithelial cross-linking formulation for treating keratoconus without removing the epithelium. The ability to perform transepithelial cross-linking eliminates the pain and healing time associated with standard cross-linking. In addition, Avedro’s new 45 mW KXL™ System coupled with the fast penetrating time of ParaCel reduces cross-linking time to only minutes.

“Dr. Pinelli is a world-renowned refractive surgeon as well as the leading pioneer in transepithelial cross-linking,” said David Muller, PhD, CEO of Avedro. “This is a tremendous breakthrough in patient comfort and safety for keratoconus sufferers worldwide.”

“I am delighted to be working with Avedro and its superb team of scientists and engineers,” said Dr. Pinelli. “As the world leader in corneal cross-linking science, Avedro offers the best future for my work.”

Dr. Pinelli has now joined Avedro’s Medical Advisory Board. He will continue to be actively involved in the science of corneal cross-linking, as well as research and clinical practice with Avedro’s Keraflex® procedure for corneal flattening.

About ILMO

Founded by Dr. Pinelli in 1998, ILMO is a private clinic specializing in the diagnosis, study and treatment of visual defects and eye diseases. The Institute uses the latest diagnostic tools and the most advanced refractive surgery techniques, and is actively engaged in refractive vision surgery research. Since its inception, Dr. Pinelli has performed over 10,000 outpatient surgical procedures at ILMO.

About Avedro, Inc.

Avedro (www.avedro.com), a privately held ophthalmic device and drug company based in Waltham, MA, developed the KXL System for performing Lasik Xtra™ and Accelerated Cross-linking. Avedro has also developed the Vedera® System for performing Keraflex, a non‐invasive, incision‐less ophthalmic procedure for flattening the cornea. Because Keraflex thermally remodels the cornea without the removal of any tissue, the procedure offers the unique ability to induce refractive change without weakening the cornea’s biomechanical integrity, as happens with LASIK and other refractive correction procedures. Both devices and procedures are CE Marked and commercially available outside of the United States.