Science Corp. launches PRIMA eye implant across 30 European countries
What's the deal? Science Corporation has begun the European commercial launch of PRIMA, a retinal implant that restored functional central vision to patients with geographic atrophy caused by age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The device has received a CE (Conformité Européenne) mark under the EU Medical Device Regulation, authorising sales across 30 European countries. The first commercial implant is expected soon in Germany.
What's the endgame? PRIMA pairs a 2mm chip carrying 378 light-powered pixels — implanted under the retina — with camera-equipped glasses that project light onto it, stimulating retinal cells to replicate lost photoreceptors. Science says it is the first brain-computer interface device to earn CE marking for form vision, meaning reading letters, numbers, and words.
Why now? The launch follows trial results published in the New England Journal of Medicine . Science reports that 80% of study patients showed clinically meaningful improvement in visual acuity at 12 months, and 84% reported reading letters, numbers, and words at home.
What changes for patients? AMD-associated geographic atrophy affects more than five million people globally, and existing treatments can only slow its progression. "Blind patients are actually able to have meaningful central vision restoration, which has never been done before," said Mahi Muqit, a vitreoretinal surgeon at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London.
What could go wrong? Reimbursement is not yet secured. Science says country-specific reimbursement applications and clinical site activations are underway across Europe, but broad access depends on those outcomes.
The signal: Europe is again first to market for a frontier medical device, while the US lags. Science is working with the Food and Drug Administration to bring PRIMA stateside, where it holds Breakthrough Device and Humanitarian Use Device designations — a familiar pattern that positions the EU as an early proving ground for restorative neurotechnology.
Read more: Science Corporation, PRIMA
