Health Canada has granted AqueSys Inc. a licence authorizing the sale of its XEN Gel Stent endoprosthesis, used to reduce intraocular pressure in patients with glaucoma.

The California-based company has chosen Salient Medical Solutions, in Toronto, to distribute and commercialize the device.

XEN Gel Stent is the first medical device to reduce intraocular pressure in much the same way as a trabeculectomy does. The XEN Gel Stent technique, however, is less invasive and comes with fewer surgical and postoperative risks.

Glaucoma affects more than 400,000 Canadians and is the second leading cause of vison loss in the country. More than 250,000 Canadians have open-angle glaucoma, the most common form of the disease, according to the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB).