Menicon signs joint venture agreement with Wenzhou Medical College in China

Menicon Co., Ltd. announces an equity participation agreement effective as of 9 June 2007 with the Vision Science Research & Development Institute of Wenzhou Medical College, located in Wenzhou City, Zheng Jiang Province, China.

This joint venture's main activities will be manufacturing, wholesale and retail sales of rigid gas permeable contact lenses (RGP) for the growing Chinese market. Menicon will transfer necessary technologies and equipment for the joint venture to be operational in August 2007.

This new joint venture arrangement will support contact lens education and research such as the Chinese myopia control national study, and provide additional high quality product options and technical assistance to Chinese contact lens fitters. As one of the first activities of the joint venture, Menicon is planning to donate the hyper-DK GP lens "Menicon Z" as a charity for 600 children in the region.

Dr. Hidenari Tanaka, Menicon's president, commented: "We are excited about exploring this new business opportunity through the joint venture arrangement with Wenzhou Medical College to broaden the RGP market in China."