Menicon Co., Ltd. announced that the orthokeratology lens "Menicon Z Night" will be launched in China in May 2023. Orthokeratology lenses, hard contact lenses with a specially shaped inner surface, improve myopia by flattening the shape of the cornea. Unlike glasses or regular contact lenses, these contact lenses are worn during sleep, which allows users to lead a comfortable life with good naked eyesight during the day.

This technology is suitable when the use of glasses and contact lenses is inconvenient such as when playing sports or doing activities outdoors. Since these lenses correct eyesight without surgery, their use is increasing worldwide. The use of orthokeratology lenses reportedly inhibits the progression of myopia.

Accordingly, orthokeratology lenses tend to be frequently prescribed to school-age children in China, and the market for these lenses is expected to approximately triple from 2020 to 2030. Menicon Z Night is a product of Menicon B.V., a subsidiary of Menicon Group in the Netherlands. The product is very popular with its users and prescribing physicians in Europe, Southeast Asia, and Australia because of its highly oxygen-permeable Menicon Z materials suitable for orthokeratology lenses worn at bedtime and software that supports the selection of lens specifications based on corneal shape data.

In China, the product will be marketed through Itabashi Medical (Dalian) Co., Ltd., a local subsidiary of Menicon Group, as of May 2023. Menicon Group has already marketed " Ortho-K" (manufactured by Alpha Corporation of Menicon Group) in the Chinese market, where it is very popular. The company also announced the launch of ROSE K in China.

Menicon will focus on the development and sales not only of regular contact lenses and lens care products but also of specialty lenses.