Paragon Unveils New Adolescent In-office Educational Aids for Paragon CRT®

Mesa, Arizona - Feb.. 2003: Paragon Vision Sciences, in response to the growing market opportunity for Corneal Refractive Therapy, overnight therapeutic contact lens corneal reshaping, premiered its new adolescent in-office educational and marketing tools for Paragon CRT at SECO International, Feb. 20th-24th. Paragon's June 2002 FDA marketing clearance for corneal refractive therapy did not restrict its use to adults. In the FDA required certification course, the benefits and precautions inherent in fitting both adults and adolescents are addressed.

Certified Paragon CRT practitioners have requested the development of educational materials devoted to adolescents and their parents. With this information, the practitioner and the family can make more informed decisions about the appropriateness of Paragon CRT for the adolescent. Paragon developed the new in-office materials based on findings collected from a series of Paragon CRT consumer focus groups. The new materials with a clean, fresh, youthful image are the cornerstones of the Paragon CRT adolescent campaign.

Adolescent participants of the Paragon focus groups stated they want to see material that reflects their lifestyles. The new adolescent materials for Paragon CRT use images of youthful, fresh faces, chosen to appeal to both parent and child and reflect diversity of the general population. The new materials will make it easier for practitioners to capture the attention of adolescents and their parents and provide them with valuable information about Corneal Refractive Therapy and Paragon CRT.

The adolescent educational and marketing materials are provided to certified Paragon CRT practitioners in their Practice Management kit, a comprehensive marketing kit included with their Diagnostic Dispensing System. Current certified practitioners will start receiving the new materials the first week of March. The new marketing materials have been designed to work with the existing point-of-purchase materials already included in the kit. A new section has been written for the practice management binder, Connecting Revenue and Treatment with Paragon CRT, also included in the kit.

The adolescent brochure addresses both parents and their children. The first two panels of the brochure, directed to mom and dad, explain the potential benefits of Paragon CRT for their child and for the parents. Since the child will be wearing the lenses, they may have some in-depth questions about the therapy. Therefore, the Frequently Asked Questions included in the brochure are written in a tone adolescents can easily understand. Throughout the brochure, parent and child alike are referred to their eye care practitioner for further information about Paragon CRT. A matching brochure stand and poster complement the new brochures. Practitioners are encouraged to display the brochures in their reception areas, and throughout their office.

Paragon CRT is the first and only product FDA approved for overnight contact lens corneal reshaping and is routinely manufactured with Paragon HDS 100®, an HDS Technology® material. FDA clearance for Paragon CRT is up to -6.00 diopters of myopia with or without astigmatism up to -1.75 diopters and with no age restriction. Paragon HDS 100 also holds FDA clearance for up to 7 days of continuous wear in standard GP lens designs. Paragon CRT is the ideal vision correction option for consumers that desire freedom from the hassles of contact lenses and spectacles during their waking hours, but prefer a non-surgical vision correction alternative. Paragon CRT provides 24-hour vision (the patient can see with the lenses on or off) without the inconvenience of daytime contact lenses and, importantly, allows the eye-unencumbered access to oxygen throughout waking hours.

Corneal Refractive Therapy with Paragon CRT provides an opportunity for practitioners not involved with refractive surgery to compete in the corneal reshaping market with a temporary, non-surgical and reversible option. For practices involved in refractive surgery, Paragon CRT is an ideal complement as it offers an opportunity to those patients underage for refractive surgery and those people of all ages who are averse to surgery. Paragon CRT also provides a "test drive" of the visual freedom that surgery provides. This experience may lead patients to elect surgery in the future.

Paragon, in conjunction with their authorized laboratory partners, officially launched Paragon CRT across the United States in August 2002. Each Paragon CRT eye care practitioner must be trained and certified to fit the product. In 2003, Paragon CRT will become widely available in Canada and eventually worldwide. Specific information for practitioners and patients about Paragon CRT can be obtained at the product web page: www.paragoncrt.com.

Paragon Vision Sciences is a privately held, specialty vision products company, located near Phoenix in Mesa, Arizona, which is owned and operated by Joe Sicari, President & CEO and members of his management team. Paragon is the manufacturer of world-renowned oxygen permeable contact lens materials including Paragon HDS®, Paragon HDS® 100, Paragon Thin™, FluoroPerm®, Paraperm® and SportSight® GP. For more information on Paragon CRT and other Paragon products contact an Authorized Paragon Laboratory Partner or the company's Customer Service Team at 1-800-528-8279 within the United States and Canada or 1-480-892-7602 from other countries. Information can also be obtained on the company's Internet Web page: www.paragonvision.com.