Luminopia and Pokémon Team Up for Pediatric Amblyopia Treatment

Luminopia Inc. has negotiated a content licensing deal with The Pokémon Company International to bring hundreds of episodes from the iconic original Pokémon animated series to pediatric amblyopia patients using the company’s U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-cleared therapy. Pokémon now is part of Luminopia’s roster of trusted media brands, including Nickelodeon, PBS Kids, and Sesame Workshop. 

Through this partnership, amblyopia patients can be entertained by more of their favorite TV characters on their journeys to improve their vision. With Ash Ketchum and his Pikachu along for the ride, kids can watch these beloved icons within a virtual reality (VR) headset, without realizing they’re undergoing treatment.

“This partnership further expands our carefully curated content library by adding additional family-friendly shows to our platform,” Luminopia Co-Founder/CEO Scott Xiao said. “With our recent FDA label expansion clearance for patients aged 8 to 12 years old, our collaboration with Pokémon helps ensure even more children will have plenty of compelling, age-appropriate content to watch during treatment.”

As the leading cause of vision loss in children, amblyopia, or lazy eye, affects about 1 million U.S. pediatric patients. For decades, the standard of care has been eye-patching, which requires patients to cover up a patient’s “good eye” and go through their daily lives with poor vision. This can make learning, playing sports, and socializing difficult, often taking an emotional toll on kids and their families.

Luminopia reimagines the outdated approach with an FDA-cleared therapy that allows amblyopia patients to watch TV within a VR headset for one hour a day, six days a week as treatment. Luminopia works differently than eye-patching and doesn’t require a patient to cover up their good eye; instead, it encourages the brain to use both eyes together.

Luminopia was initially cleared by the FDA for patients 4 to 7 years old in 2021. In April, it was cleared for patients aged 8 to 12 years, expanding treatment access to about 400,000 U.S. children affected by the condition in this age range.

“At The Pokémon Company International, our mission is to bring the joy of Pokémon to as many fans as possible, including finding innovative and meaningful ways to deliver our beloved lineup of animated entertainment to children,” said Taito Okiura, vice president, marketing and media at The Pokémon Company International. “Partnering with Luminopia allows Pokémon programming to be used in an entirely new and impactful context, and we’re honored to support Luminopia’s efforts treating amblyopia.”

Luminopia is the first FDA-approved¹ digital therapeutic for a neuro-visual disorder, indicated to improve vision in children with amblyopia. Using Luminopia, patients choose television shows and movies to watch from a selection of popular, engaging, and educational content. Dual-acting algorithms modify the selected videos in real-time within a VR headset to promote weaker eye usage and encourage patients’ brains to combine input from both eyes. Unlike conventional treatments like eye-patching, blurring (atropine) eye drops and other digital therapies, which just penalize the stronger eye, Luminopia teaches patients to use both eyes together in a unique, binocular manner.

Luminopia has been cleared by the FDA for children aged 4 to <13 years and validated through a series of clinical trials as well as a real-world registry. The Phase 3 pivotal trial was the first successful, randomized, controlled trial of a novel amblyopia treatment in almost 15 years, and the results were published in Ophthalmology, leading to the initial FDA approval for patients aged 4 to 7 years. Based on the robust real-world evidence collected through the PUPiL Registry, the FDA determined that Luminopia’s safety and efficacy in patients aged 8-12 years is substantially equivalent to its safety and efficacy in patients aged 4 to 7 years, leading to a subsequent label expansion clearance.

Luminopia Inc. is pioneering a new class of treatments for significant neuro-visual disorders. The company is an Innovation Partner of Boston Children’s Hospital and developed its lead product to improve vision in children with amblyopia.

The Pokémon Company International, a subsidiary of The Pokémon Company in Japan, manages the property outside of Asia and is responsible for brand management, licensing and marketing, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, the animated TV series, home entertainment, and the official Pokémon website. Pokémon was launched in Japan in 1996 and today is one of the most popular children’s entertainment properties in the world.

Reference
¹ De Novo granted in Oct 2021, 510(k) clearance in Apr 2025 to expand the age range.