Key Officials of Kyrgyzstan Ministry of Finance Visit 'Microt'

Key officials from the Kyrgyzstan Ministry of Finance visited Microt, an ophthalmic medical device specialist company located in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, on the 12th.

This visit was part of the Kyrgyzstan Small and Medium Enterprise Development Project led by the World Bank. During the meeting, Microt and key officials from the Kyrgyzstan Ministry of Finance discussed the current status of the glaucoma treatment market and cooperation plans with Central Asia and neighboring countries, while also reviewing Microt’s main products and technological capabilities.

Malik-Aidar Abakirov, Director of the Kyrgyzstan Guarantee Corporation, stated, "We were deeply impressed by Microt’s excellent technological capabilities in the field of glaucoma treatment," adding, "We hope this meeting will serve as an opportunity to build a strong partnership in the future."

Jongcheol Han, CEO of Microt, said, "I visited Kyrgyzstan in 2016 as part of an NGO activity called Vision Care to provide ophthalmic medical volunteer services," and added, "During that volunteer work, I realized that products like Microt’s Astream might actually be more necessary in developing countries."

He continued, "Ophthalmic diseases often require long-term medication, resulting in high treatment costs, and the complexity of surgery leads many patients in developing countries to give up treatment," explaining, "However, if products like our Astream are introduced to such markets, we expect that overall treatment costs can ultimately be reduced."

Microt’s 'Astream,' which recently received approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, is an ultra-small glaucoma implant measuring 6mm in length and 100μm in inner diameter. It provides effective intraocular pressure reduction and ensures safety by using medical-grade silicone with high biocompatibility and biosafety. Additionally, Microt is pursuing FDA approval in the United States and CE certification in Europe for Astream, and especially with this visit to Kyrgyzstan, is considering expansion into Central Asia and the Russian region.

Meanwhile, Microt, a medical device venture company established in 2019, researches and develops various products related to glaucoma and ophthalmology. In May last year, it was selected as a ‘Baby Unicorn’ company with high potential to grow into a global unicorn, overcoming a 6:1 competition ratio, marking rapid growth.

CEO Han explained, "Glaucoma is a disease where increased intraocular pressure (IOP) causes abnormalities in the optic nerve, resulting in visual field defects. Proper fluid inflow and outflow in the eye must be maintained, but when this balance is disrupted, damage begins from the peripheral vision, leading to decreased eyesight."

When intraocular pressure is not well controlled by medication or laser treatment, glaucoma surgery is performed. This surgery creates a passage for aqueous humor inside the eye to drain properly through the outer wall of the eye, but it is complex and carries various risks such as hypotony or intraocular hemorrhage.

To overcome the limitations of conventional glaucoma surgery, Minimally Invasive Glaucoma Surgery (MIGS) has gained attention. MIGS consistently and continuously lowers intraocular pressure with a high safety profile, has lower surgical difficulty, shorter operation time, and thus reduces patient burden. Microt’s ‘Astream’ is utilized in this approach.