A five-year research and innovation project has been established in France to better understand the clinical and biological mechanisms behind myopia progression. The aim is to enable the delivery of advanced, personalised ophthalmic solutions tailored to individual needs.

PREMYOM (Prise en charge et Ralentissement de l’Epidémie de MYopie par l’Optique Médicale), brings together leading healthcare, research and industry organisations: EssilorLuxottica, Hôpital Fondation Adolphe de Rothschild, Inria (the National Institute for Research in Digital Science and Technology), InSimo (biomechanical simulation specialists), IMT (the French Ministry of the Economy, Industry and the Digital Economy’s largest higher education and research institution), and Institut de la Vision.

The mission is to support the development of highly personalised lenses that effectively slow down myopia progression in children and make these solutions widely accessible. Led by EssilorLuxottica, PREMYOM will tap into cutting-edge research on retinal biology, largescale cohort studies, clinical trials, and big data analytics. It will also leverage advanced digital modelling and biomechanical simulation of the myopic eye, innovative optical concepts, as well as next-generation lens manufacturing technologies and optometry instruments.

Describing childhood myopia as “one of the most urgent challenges in ophthalmology”, Thierry Villette, Partnerships and Science Outreach Director at EssilorLuxottica and Project Director of PREMYOM, said, “From simple vision correction to the personalised optical therapy and journey, from empirical understanding to digital modelling, and from third-party data to the largest myopia cohort in the Western world – these elements define PREMYOM’s ambition and commitment.”