EssilorLuxottica at ARVO 2026: key insights in myopia research

In September 2025, Essilor® Stellest® lenses† marked its latest milestone and became the first and only U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) market authorized spectacle lens clinically proven to slow myopia progression in children, and the first treatment authorized for children aged 6 to 12 years.1 To gauge the safety and effectiveness of Essilor® Stellest® lenses†, the FDA evaluated evidence from a pivotal U.S. clinical trial. Four posters presented by EssilorLuxottica R&D at ARVO 2026 brought the two-year clinical trial findings to the global research community.

The trial was a three-year, double-masked, randomized controlled clinical trial conducted across nine optometry/ophthalmology sites in the United States. 175 children aged 6 to 12 years were enrolled, and randomized to wear either Essilor® Stellest® lenses† or single vision lenses (SVL) for at least 10 hours per day, ≥6 days per week.

Dr. Jie Shen and colleagues found that over two years, children who wore Essilor® Stellest® lenses† demonstrated 0.64 D (71%) and 0.24mm (53%) less progression compared to single vision controls.2 Lim et al. examined whether this effect varied by age or baseline myopia, and found that Essilor® Stellest® lenses† demonstrated significant and consistent effectiveness in slowing myopia progression across all pediatric age groups.3 Notably, the greatest myopia control benefit was seen in younger children (6–8 years: 89%; 9–10 years: 62%; 11–12 years: 72%).

The average daily wearing time was similar between the Essilor® Stellest® lenses† group (13.3 hours) and controls (13.9 hours), indicating strong compliance across both groups. Notably, the discontinuation rate was lower among Essilor® Stellest® lens† wearers (5.2%) than the SVL group (11%),2  suggesting that children overall were satisfied with the wearing experience.

Gelb et al. reported an equally-reassuring safety profile.4 Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) remained stable across both groups, and no child experienced a worsening of two or more lines. Furthermore, there were no lens-related ocular adverse events. Wong et al. observed that the rate of astigmatism change was similar between Essilor® Stellest® lenses† and SVL wearers over the two-year period, confirming that Essilor® Stellest® lenses† do not affect the progression of astigmatism in children.5

Key takeaways

• Essilor® Stellest® lenses† are safe and effective for myopia management, on average reducing myopia progression by 71% and axial elongation by 53% over two years compared to single vision lenses (SVLs).
  • Essilor® Stellest® lenses† significantly slowed myopia progression across all age groups, with the greatest benefit observed in younger children aged 6–8 years, supporting early intervention. 
  • Children with higher baseline myopia are not disadvantaged in terms of treatment response.
• Essilor® Stellest® lenses† have no meaningful impact on astigmatism progression compared to SVLs.

Launched in 2020, Essilor® Stellest® lenses† have rapidly become a leading treatment in myopia management, incorporating Highly Aspherical Lenslet Target (H.A.L.T.*) technology to generate a volume of non-focused light (or a volume of myopic defocus) in front of the retina to control myopia progression and axial elongation.

The lens was first evaluated in 2018 in a large, 2-year randomized controlled trial (RCT) conducted at the Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University in Wenzhou, China.6 Since then, its efficacy has been rigorously evaluated across numerous studies. A systematic review presented by Mark Bullimore and Olga Prenat at ARVO 2026 across 26 studies conducted in multiple patient populations, offers the most comprehensive synthesis of the literature on Essilor® Stellest® lenses† to date.7

Key findings from the review were as follows:

• Across all studies, annual axial elongation rates were substantially lower in children who wore Essilor® Stellest® lenses† than untreated myopes.8
• Studies which included a single vision control group showed a mean 1-year reduction in axial elongation of 0.21 mm (0.13 mm vs 0.34 mm) – a similar effect to the 0.23 mm difference reported in the original 2-year RCT in China.6 
• 6 of the 10 studies comparing Essilor® Stellest® lenses† with orthokeratology showed slower axial elongation in Essilor® Stellest® lens† wearers, while 4 of the studies showed no difference. 
• Combination with atropine enhanced the efficacy of Essilor® Stellest® lenses† in all but one study.

New 7-year clinical data for the Essilor® Stellest® lens† was unveiled at ARVO 2026 by Li et al., confirming sustained efficacy over long-term wear.9 40 children completed the seven-year visit, representing 71% retention from the original Essilor® Stellest® lens† group over seven years, an important strength given the challenges of maintaining participation in long-term pediatric myopia studies. At the seven-year visit, participants had reached a mean age of 17.5 years. 

Over the 7-year period, the Essilor® Stellest® lens† group showed a mean change of −1.53 D and 0.79 mm, compared to −3.83 D and 1.71 mm in the extrapolated single vision control group. This translates to an estimated myopia control efficacy of 2.30 D and 0.92, suggesting that efficacy is maintained in adolescents up to 19 years old.

While clinical trials evaluate myopia treatments under controlled conditions, real-world studies reveal how it performs across the variable conditions encountered in practice. Two posters compared the real-world efficacy of Essilor® Stellest® lenses† against two other new-generation spectacle lenses for myopia control – HOYA MiYOSMART with Defocus Incorporated Multiple Segments (DIMS) and ZEISS MyoCare with Cylindrical Annular Refractive Elements (CARE). 

Recently published in Ophthalmology Science, the first study conducted by Chandramouli et al. involved South Indian children aged 6–16 years.10 All three myopia control designs reduced annual axial elongation compared to SVL, but Essilor® Stellest® lenses† were the most effective (adjusted annual AL progression: DIMS 0.098 mm/year, CARE 0.088 mm/year, H.A.L.T.* or Essilor® Stellest® lenses† 0.054 mm/year, SVL 0.193 mm/year). Liu et al. reached similar conclusions from a larger study of Chinese children aged 6–12 years with low myopia.11  Across all age groups, Essilor® Stellest® lenses† were more effective at slowing axial elongation compared to  DIMS and CARE (mean annual AL elongation: DIMS 0.26 mm, HAL (Essilor® Stellest® lenses†) 0.21 mm, CARE 0.27 mm, SV 0.46 mm) – enabling one-third (33%) of children to maintain eye growth within physiological norms (≤0.1 mm/year).11 

New studies on myopia prevention and combination therapy complement the growing body of evidence on the broader applications of Essilor® Stellest® lenses†. He et al. presented six-month results from the School-based Myopia Prevention and Control Integrated Study in Shanghai, in which all children in intervention schools participated in structured outdoor activity. Pre-myopic and myopic children were additionally prescribed HAL lenses or Essilor® Stellest® lenses†, with minimum wear times of 8 hours/day and 12 hours/day respectively.12  After 6 months of HAL wear, there was a 36% relative reduction in incident myopia and 48% slower axial elongation in pre-myopic children compared to controls. Strikingly, HAL wear for at least 12 hours per day was associated with 90% slower axial elongation in pre-myopes and 75% slower axial elongation in myopes compared with controls.

Dr. Bryan Sim showed that prescribing Essilor® Stellest® lenses† combined with low-dose atropine (0.01%–0.025%) could be a potential strategy to manage children with poor response to atropine monotherapy.13 Progression remained markedly below pre-treatment levels whether atropine concentration was maintained or adjusted after one year, suggesting that the dose can be adjusted without compromising the overall treatment effect.

Researchers at EssilorLuxottica also shared new advancements in vision science at this year’s Annual Meeting, such as examining the potential role of local spatial contrast (LSC) in myopia.14 Local spatial contrast is defined as the variance of light intensity within a retinal receptive field.14 Hamlaoui et al. identified LSC as a strong predictor of myopia control lens efficacy, with lenses that reduce retinal contrast more showing greater slowing of axial elongation clinically.15 Di Tullio et al. also suggested that the retina uses chromatic contrast features (like LSC) to detect the sign of defocus, potentially playing a role in regulating eye growth accordingly.16 

In summary, this research adds to the vast and growing knowledge base on Essilor® Stellest® lenses†, adding understanding on long-term efficacy and safety, real-world performance, and special clinical applications. As the evidence base continues to mature, Essilor® Stellest® lenses† remain one of the most thoroughly studied and consistently effective options for myopia management in children.

† Essilor® Stellest® lens regulatory status and product availability may vary by country. Clinical data are derived from multiple sources. U.S. FDA authorization and indications for use are based solely on clinical trial data from the U.S.

*H.A.L.T. is an acronym for Highly Aspherical Lenslet Target and does not imply a “halt” or “stop” of myopia progression.