Wellc Co., Ltd. (CEO Park Ki-seong) announced that it will participate in ‘BIO KOREA 5’ held at COEX, Seoul for three days from May 10th (Wed) to 12th (Fri).
WellC, a technology development company that treats ophthalmological challenges, started with a head office in Busan in 2020 and established offices in Seoul and Hwaseong. The team was formed with a representative from the ophthalmology industry, executives from Canada, and an advisory group based in Germany. It has a portfolio of five products used for the treatment of Keratoconus Suspect, and its representative product is a platform service that provides a surgical plan for laser keratoplasty to treat severe dry eye syndrome.
The non-professional program to be introduced at this exhibition is a software that establishes a laser corneal ablation ‘LAK’ surgery plan for corneal deformity correction. In 2022, WellC started a platform service that provides LAK surgery plans to hospitals as a non-professional program. LAK surgery has been specifically commercialized as a treatment technology for keratoconus, and keratoconus is a diagnosis given when a severely distorted corneal shape corresponding to the previous stage of ectasia occurs.
A WellC official said, “Keratoconus causes severe corneal dryness accompanied by pain like being stabbed with a needle and vision abnormality. When performed in parallel with conventional refractive surgery, it is possible to correct vision with minimal side effects such as dry eye syndrome or vision degeneration,” he explained.
“Using our developed technology, the treatment market for keratoconus has been opened. “We have developed a solution for patients with severe chronic dry eye syndrome, which is emerging as a global problem with the accumulation of patients with aftereffects of laser refractive surgery, glaucoma surgery, and presbyopia cataract surgery for over 30 years.” However, dry eye caused by corneal deformation can be treated by correcting the deformed shape of the cornea with our technology,” he added.
In addition, WellC plans to develop three supplementary products to broaden the range of treatment targets. These include an implant that prevents corneal swelling after laser hyperopia correction (name: meshing), an intraocular lens capable of exchanging or correcting the optical lens of an intraocular lens (name: prefabricated intraocular lens), and a contact lens that preserves tear defects in the center (name: ring lens). WellC explained that all of the augmented products were designed to be treated in parallel with the LAK surgery developed by the company as a treatment for keratoconus.
Starting with commercialization in April 2022, LAK surgery is currently being used as a treatment technology for keratoconus in two ophthalmic clinics in Korea. We are looking for partner hospitals to expand our domestic business and plan to add three partner hospitals by next year. In addition, after independently developing a corneal shape correction laser equipped with a non-professional program, the company plans to advance overseas, and is planning to partner with a university affiliated hospital in China.
An official said, “We want to participate in this exhibition to publicize our development technology and development products.” “We will also propose technology development cooperation or licensing through networking with domestic and foreign industry officials, and re-establish the domestic business expansion strategy.” He explained the background of participating in the exhibition.
Meanwhile, ‘BIO KOREA 18’, which celebrated its 2023th this year, is hosted by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute and Chungcheongbuk-do. Since 2006, BIO KOREA, which has been striving to promote the global status and continuous growth of the Korean health industry, has been strengthening its position as Korea’s representative bio-health international convention with world-renowned scholars and business experts participating every year. BIO KOREA 2023, together with domestic and foreign companies related to the health industry such as bio, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, cosmetics, and food, as well as companies and institutions of interest such as consulting, academia, and related organizations, offers various programs such as conferences, business partnering, exhibitions, and invest fairs. It goes on.