"High Myopia Increasing 'Risk of Blindness' Can Be Prevented from Childhood with DTx"

Im Chanho SRPtera CBO
Confirmatory Clinical Trial of Pediatric Myopia Progression Inhibitor 'SAT-001'
Treatment Beyond Simple CBT by Regulating 'Neurohormones'
Myopia Progression Inhibition Effect Confirmed in PoC Clinical Trial

"Pediatric myopia is a key cause of ophthalmic diseases that lead to blindness, such as macular degeneration and retinal detachment. SAT-001 is a digital therapeutic device (DTx) that can safely and easily suppress pediatric myopia."

On the 23rd, Im Chan-ho, Chief Business Officer of SRP Therapeutics, explained this about the company's core pipeline, the pediatric myopia progression suppression DTx SAT-001, in an interview with Asia Economy.

Im Chan-ho, Chief Business Officer (CBO) of SR Alpha Therapeutics, is being interviewed by Asia Economy.
[Photo by Lee Chun-hee]

Mr. Im has built his career by serving as the head of Asia strategy and business development at the global big pharma MSD. He turned his attention to the unfamiliar field of digital healthcare because he saw its 'potential.' He said, "While leading the project for MSD's technology licensing of Hanmi Pharmaceutical's hypertension combination drug Amozaltan, I began to recognize Korea's potential. Especially recently, digital health is being called the 'third new drug,' and as bio and IT rapidly converge, I saw this as an opportunity to apply the business capabilities I have accumulated directly in Korean digital healthcare."

Among various digital healthcare companies, he joined SRP Therapeutics because he saw exceptional potential. The company's DTx has a mechanism that manages 'neurohormones' in addition to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which existing DTx mainly focus on. Mr. Im explained, "Since it incorporates physiological elements that induce the balance of various in vivo factors affecting diseases, I believe it can be differentiated among various DTx."

Children wearing glasses. The photo is not directly related to the article content. / Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

SAT-001 is also based on this mechanism. Myopia occurs when the eyeball elongates excessively front to back, preventing proper image formation on the retina. When children and adolescents develop myopia, its progression accelerates. As of 2022, the prevalence of myopia among Korean children and adolescents surged to about 8,000 per 100,000 people. Research also shows that if high myopia follows, the risk of developing ophthalmic diseases that can lead to blindness, such as glaucoma, macular degeneration, and retinal detachment, increases.

SAT-001 suppresses myopia progression through eye exercises that regulate the secretion of neurohormones like dopamine and cortisol, which affect the length of the eye. At first glance, it may seem similar to the folk belief that "eye exercises can cure myopia," but Mr. Im emphasized, "General eye exercises are based on experience, but we have scientific evidence developed through research." SAT-001 demonstrated its efficacy in suppressing myopia progression in children when used together with myopia correction glasses compared to wearing glasses alone in a proof-of-concept clinical trial. Through this, in April, it became the first domestic DTx technology to be licensed to Japan's Rohto Pharmaceutical. Unlike 'dream lenses' that suppress myopia progression, it is not worn directly on the eyes, making it easy for children to use. Currently, confirmatory clinical trials for product approval are underway. Mr. Im said, "Our goal is to complete the clinical trials and submit the product approval application by next year."

SRP Therapeutics is currently continuing to develop pipelines for various diseases where DTx has not been developed before, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), dementia, cancer, intestinal diseases, and immunity. Since they pursue DTx that handles not only CBT but also neurohormones, they are confident in achieving sufficient therapeutic effects. The PTSD treatment DTx is a national project and is expected to enter domestic confirmatory clinical trials soon.