Academician of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering and Chairman of Eyedeal’s Scientific Advisory Board Leonard Pinchuk’s Glaucoma Drainage Device Set to Launch in China

According to media reports, global ophthalmology leader Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. recently announced that the marketing authorization application for its Preserflo® MicroShunt glaucoma drainage system has been accepted by the Center for Medical Device Evaluation (CMDE) of China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA). This milestone brings the innovative product one step closer to market entry in China. The Preserflo MicroShunt, originally developed by InnFocus Inc., was acquired by Santen in 2016 for an upfront payment of USD 225 million and milestone payments. Notably, the founder and inventor of InnFocus is Dr. Leonard Pinchuk, a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering and Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board at Xi’an Eyedeal Medical Technology Co., Ltd.

Preserflo® MicroShunt: A Groundbreaking Glaucoma Drainage System

Founded in 2003 and based in Miami, Florida, InnFocus Inc. is a technology-driven company specializing in ophthalmic innovation. Its core product—the Preserflo MicroShunt—is a glaucoma drainage device made using SIBS (poly(styrene-block-isobutylene-block-styrene)), a novel polymer originally developed at the Joseph P. Kennedy Laboratory at the University of Akron. Dr. Leonard Pinchuk and his team reformulated and purified SIBS to reach medical-grade standards. After successfully applying SIBS in cardiovascular drug-eluting stents, Dr. Pinchuk collaborated with ophthalmologists to develop the world’s first soft microshunt, dramatically advancing glaucoma treatment technologies.

SIBS, a polyisobutylene-based biomaterial, features a backbone of alternating secondary and quaternary carbon atoms, free of hydrolyzable groups. This structure gives it outstanding chemical stability and biocompatibility. Its softness allows it to conform to the curvature of ocular tissues while minimizing collagen deposition and fibroblast proliferation. As a result, it significantly reduces the formation of scarring and encapsulated blebs, greatly lowering the risk of surgical failure.

Dr. Leonard Pinchuk, Member of the U.S. Academy of Engineering and Chairman of the Eyedeal Scientific Advisory Board

Importantly, Dr. Leonard Pinchuk also invented a new-generation polyisobutylene-based biomaterial—xPIB (cross-linked polyisobutylene)—which offers even better performance than SIBS. He applied xPIB to the development of next-generation intraocular lenses (IOLs). In 2014, Dr. Pinchuk began collaborating with Guo Guangxu, founder of Xi’an Eyedeal Medical Technology Co., Ltd. Over the course of 11 years of intensive research and development, Eyedeal has become the exclusive global holder of the complete technology for xPIB—including raw material synthesis, testing, scaling, and batch manufacturing—and has established a commercial platform for xPIB production in Xi’an High-tech Zone.

In 2024, Eyedeal submitted a registration application to the NMPA for its first aspheric IOL developed on the xPIB platform, after completing years of clinical trials in China. This new-generation intraocular lens is the first new material IOL to enter clinical application globally in over 30 years, marking a world-first and positioning Chinese innovation at the forefront of the global ophthalmic materials industry, following in the footsteps of traditional acrylic IOLs.

xPIB IOL

During his collaboration with Eyedeal, Dr. Pinchuk established a Scientific Advisory Board composed of world-renowned scientists. Under his leadership, the board has brought in three international academicians—Prof. Joseph P. Kennedy, Dr. Buddy Ratner, and Dr. Robert Ward—as well as several distinguished experts in materials science and ophthalmology. This advisory team provides strategic guidance and technical expertise, supporting Eyedeal’s continuous innovation.

To date, Eyedeal has built and operates five provincial and ministerial-level research platforms, including an Engineering Research Center, Academician Workstation, Postdoctoral Research Station, and International Talent Demonstration Base. The company has recruited and trained over 30 PhD and Master-level researchers, laying a solid foundation for sustainable development and technological advancement in China’s ophthalmology industry.

Eyedeal Scientific Advisory Board

About Leonard Pinchuk

Leonard Pinchuk, member of the American National Academy of Engineering (NAE), Ph.D. interdisciplinary in engineering and chemistry from the University of Miami, a continuous inventor and entrepreneur. Dr. Pinchuk is recipient of the BioFlorida Lifetime Achievement Award and winner of 2019 Fritz J. and Dolores H. Russ Prize, the world’s highest technology award in Engineering.

Dr. Pinchuk has 140 issued U.S. patents, over 110 publications and founded 10 companies. His major accomplishments include the invention of the Nylon 12 angioplasty balloon (used by all interventional cardiology companies), the helical wire stent (Johnson and Johnson/Cords, FL and Medtronic, MN), the modular stent-graft for bypassing aortic aneurysms, a drug-eluting stent (TAXUS®, Boston Scientific, MA), Bionate® polycarbonate urethane (Covestro AG, Germany), SIBS (Innovia LLC, Miami, FL), radiation oncology catheters (TriSalus, CO) a novel glaucoma treatment device (the PRESERFLO® MicroShunt, InnFocus/Santen, Osaka, JP), the next generation intraocular lens (Eyedeal, Xi’an, China) and a pull-out injury safe urinary drainage catheter (InnoCare, Miami, FL). His inventions are used in over a billion patients world-wide with a financial impact well over $100 billion. He was inducted into the U.S. National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in 2012, was awarded the 2017 Society for Biomaterials Innovation and Technology Award, San Antonio’s BIOMED SA Award (2017), he received the Ohio University/National Academy of Engineering 2019 Fritz J. and Dolores H. Russ Prize, which is the world’s top prize in bioengineering, for innovations in medical devices that enable minimally invasive angioplasty treatment of advanced coronary artery disease. He was inducted into the U.S. National Academy of Inventors in 2021 and received the 2023 BioFlorida Life-Time Achievement Award.

Dr. Pinchuk received a B.Sc. in chemistry from McGill University (Montreal, Canada, 1976) and a Ph.D. in Engineering and Chemistry from the University of Miami (Miami, Florida, 1984). He co-founded Corvita Corporation (1987) which went public on the NASDAQ in 1994, was acquired by Pfizer, Inc. (1996). He then founded Innovia LLC (2002), which spun-out InnFocus, Inc. (2004) which was acquired by Santen Pharmaceuticals in 2016 and Innolene LLC, (2010) developing intraocular lenses, licensed (2014 and 2021) to Xi ‘an Eyedeal Medical Technology Co. (Xi’an China). Len currently serves as a Senior Vice President and Executive Principal Scientist, Polymer Engineer, InnFocus, Inc., a Santen company. He continues to serve as Innovia’s and Innolene’s CEO and President and enjoys an appointment as Distinguished Research Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Miami (Miami, FL).