EssilorLuxottica has marked 45 years of research and innovation in myopia management with a big presence at APSPOS 2025, reflecting decades of dedication to managing this global condition through science, technology, and collaboration.
EssilorLuxottica has most bases covered with myopia management in Australia and New Zealand. One of the industry’s most powerful lens-based interventions, backed with high quality monitoring tools like the REVO FC OCT and Myopia Expert 700, are compelling options for optometrists now offering the standard of care for this condition.
But the company isn’t done there. It believes the solution lies not only in innovative products, but in collaboration – where optometrists, ophthalmologists, orthoptists, and vision scientists work in step to protect children’s eye health.
This was the driving message behind EssilorLuxottica’s presence of the 3rd Congress of the Asia-Pacific Strabismus and Paediatric Ophthalmology Society (APSPOS), held in Brisbane from 29 June to 1 July 2025. The company was the premier partner at the region’s most significant event for paediatric eye health, co-hosted with the Australian and New Zealand Strabismus Society (ANZSS) and the Australian and New Zealand Paediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus Society (ANZPOS).
Themed ‘Inspiring Collaboration’, the meeting welcomed more than 560 delegates from 37 countries and offered a platform for professionals to converge around the big priorities in paediatric eye health.
“This APSPOS partnership was incredibly important to us because it reflects our commitment to collaborative care and advancing clinical knowledge in caring for paediatric and strabismic patients,” says optometrist Ms Amy Pillay, professional affairs manager for EssilorLuxottica ANZ.
“By being at the forefront of this event, we’re able to engage directly with ophthalmologists, orthoptists, and optometrists – sharing evidence-based insights and innovations like Essilor Stellest lenses. It’s also an opportunity to reinforce our shared goal: slowing myopia progression and improving visual outcomes for children.
“Our role extends beyond product innovation – it’s about building awareness, supporting early detection of pre-myopia, and equipping practitioners with evidence-based solutions.”
Essilor Stellest lenses have emerged as one of those solutions. After launching in ANZ in 2022, the myopia progression control spectacle lens has become a key addition to the optometrist’s toolkit, supported by robust long-term clinical evidence.
Highlighting the strength of this data was a major focus of the EssilorLuxottica contingent at APSPOS that included Pillay alongside ANZ eyecare and medical & professional affairs director Ms Sephora Miao, and ANZ senior vice-president of operations Mr Carl James.
Joining them were Australian myopia authorities Dr Loren Rose and Dr Kate Gifford who featured in the EssilorLuxottica-hosted breakfast symposium to discuss a collaborative approach to curbing the myopia epidemic along with Pillay and Miao.
Dr Rose, discussing best practices in ophthalmology, also presented the latest six-year clinical data on Essilor Stellest lenses. The results showed the lenses slowed myopia progression by 1.95 D (57%) and axial elongation by 0.81 mm (52%) compared to an extrapolated single-vision lens control group. Importantly, these effects were sustained up to 19 years of age, underscoring the product’s long-term efficacy.1
“We have robust data to explain to our patients and their families about the use of myopia control spectacles to reduce myopia progression over the long term and in older patients,” Dr Rose says.
“I am asked when to treat with these glasses. I would say the earlier, the better and single vision glasses only correct vision, while these interventions correct vision and help control the growth of the eye.”
Dr Gifford, a leading voice in optometric myopia management, highlighted the importance of early pre-myopic intervention, including risk factor identification and published research on proactive treatment strategies, in addition to increasing time spent outdoors and managing near work time. She discussed new clinical evidence supporting the use of Essilor Stellest lenses (plano pair) in children at risk of developing myopia.
This proactive mindset, now being increasingly embraced by eyecare professionals, comes as the Essilor Stellest lens was evaluated recently in three studies for its potential to delay myopia onset in non-myopic children.2,3,4
In one of the first published studies exploring optical interventions for children with low hyperopic reserves, pre-myopic children aged six to 10 years who wore Essilor Stellest lenses (plano pair) for more than 30 hours per week demonstrated a slowing in axial elongation compared to children using standard single vision lenses.2
A separate retrospective study in China further supported these findings, the company said, showing slower axial growth in 88% of at-risk children after one year of wear, with axial growth rates even lower than those of emmetropic peers.3,5
At APSPOS 2025, the EssilorLuxottica booth served as a learning hub for delegates, many of whom sought out deeper clinical insights after the symposium, helping to also broaden awareness of Essilor Stellest lenses beyond the optometry scope.
“Slowing myopia progression with spectacle solutions are gaining recognition in ophthalmology, especially through collaborative platforms such as APSPOS,” Pillay says.
On the booth, a large-format wall display of the Essilor Stellest six-year data was complemented by a comprehensive information pack featuring 17 published studies and a new Essilor Stellest lens prescription pad with plus and minus cylinder formats and conveniently featuring the full lens range.
Delegates also engaged with diagnostic technologies on display, including the REVO FC OCT available with the myopia forecast module, Myopia Expert 700 for axial length measurement, and the ICON paediatric retinal camera – tools available through OptiMed that support best-practice care for paediatric patients.
“It’s clear that long-term clinical evidence remains essential in validating the effectiveness of the available myopia management solutions,” Pillay says. “The event also reinforced the importance of collaborative care between optometrists and ophthalmologists, as well as the benefits of combination therapy in achieving optimal outcomes for patients.”
As EssilorLuxottica deepens its role across the eye health ecosystem, its message at APSPOS 2025 was clear.
“By working alongside optometrists, orthoptists, ophthalmologists, and universities, we are shaping a future where we are curbing the myopia epidemic and slowing myopia progression,” Pillay says.
References
1.EssilorLuxottica. Myopia control efficacy of spectacle lenses with highly aspherical lenslets: results of a 6-year follow-up study. 2025. Data on file.
2. Zhang Z, Zeng L, Gu D, Wang B, Kang P, Watt K, et al. Spectacle Lenses With Highly Aspherical Lenslets for Slowing Axial Elongation and Refractive Change in Low-Hyperopic Chinese Children: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Am J Ophthalmol. 2025 Jan 1;269:60–8. (2)
3. Data on file, Oct. 2024. Retrospective real-world study results on 105 non-myopic children aged 4~9 years with a non-cycloplegic SER between >-0.50 D and +0.75 D wearing Essilor® Stellest® plano lenses over roughly a 1-year period in Shanghai, China. (3)
4. Naduvilath T, He X, Xu X, Sankaridurg P. Normative data for axial elongation in Asian children. Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics [Internet]. 2023 Sep 1 [cited 2023 Oct 25];43(5):1160–8. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/opo.13159(4)
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