An ophthalmic clinical trial site in New Zealand: information for sponsors and CROs

The New Zealand Eye Research Centre (NZERC) is a dedicated eye research site in Hamilton, New Zealand. It was established in 2023 by optometrist Jagrut Lallu and works alongside its affiliated clinical practice, Rose Optometry, which has run a specialty contact lens service since 1969. This page is written for sponsors, device and lens manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies and contract research organisations (CROs) assessing a New Zealand site for an ophthalmic study.

Where NZERC fits

Most ophthalmic trial sites are built around surgical ophthalmology. NZERC is optometry-led, so its strength is the front of the eye and the growing eye: the studies where the participants are children with progressing myopia, contact lens wearers, people with dry eye and meibomian gland dysfunction, and patients with keratoconus and irregular corneas. These are populations that an optometry practice sees every day and a hospital clinic rarely does. NZERC draws on an active patient database of 25,000 people.

Therapeutic areas

• Myopia management — spectacle, contact lens, pharmacological and light-based interventions, with axial length and choroidal endpoints.
• Contact lens technology, keratoconus and corneal disease — soft, rigid, orthokeratology and scleral lenses, lens care systems, and corneal imaging and monitoring.
• Dry eye and ocular surface disease — device-based and topical treatments for meibomian gland dysfunction and evaporative dry eye.
• Intraocular lens and vision correction research — biometry and outcome measurement in support of surgical partners.

The three questions sponsors ask

• Can you recruit? See patient recruitment and our study population.
• Can you measure it? See equipment and endpoints, and choroidal thickness and CVI.
• How fast can you start? See early feasibility and pilot studies in New Zealand.

Investigators and research team

NZERC's founder and principal investigator, Jagrut Lallu, holds a master's degree with honours in specialty contact lenses and orthokeratology from the University of Auckland, is a Clinical Senior Lecturer at the Deakin School of Optometry, a Myopia Ambassador for the International Myopia Institute and the World Council of Optometry's myopia ambassador for the Asia-Pacific region.

The research team is trained in Good Clinical Practice (GCP):

• Jagrut Lallu — principal investigator
• Jacqueline Rowe — optometrist, sub-investigator
• Jessica Wood — optometrist, sub-investigator
• Jason Shen — optometrist, sub-investigator
• Stella Wong — optometrist, sub-investigator
• Anjali Hira — optometrist, sub-investigator
• Zhanna Faulkner — clinical assistant

All the investigators are therapeutically qualified optometrists. They are supported by an external research advisor, a vision scientist and optometrist with 15 years of clinical, research and medical affairs experience. GCP training records are available to sponsors at feasibility.

The team publishes. Recent work includes a 2026 paper on red-light therapy in myopia management in Clinical & Experimental Optometry, a 2025 review of orthokeratology, and co-authorship of a randomised trial of a new keratolytic for meibomian gland dysfunction. The site has worked to commercial sponsors' protocols with international CROs, including monitored device investigations.

Confidentiality

We do not publish the names of sponsors, products or studies without the sponsor's written consent. Every sponsored study at NZERC runs under a confidentiality agreement, and that protection starts at the first feasibility conversation: we are happy to sign your NDA before you send a protocol synopsis.

Facilities and equipment

NZERC operates from 37 Lake Road, Frankton, Hamilton 3204, with imaging, biometry and ocular surface instruments on site, including a full Heidelberg Spectralis OCT suite, Heidelberg Anterion, three optical biometers (Zeiss IOLMaster, Lenstar and Nidek AL-Scan), Medmont Meridia topography, specular microscopy and a complete dry eye diagnostic and treatment suite. The full list, arranged by the endpoint each instrument measures, is on our equipment and endpoints page.

Clinical research in New Zealand

New Zealand is an English-speaking jurisdiction with a single national ethics system. Intervention studies are reviewed by a Health and Disability Ethics Committee (HDEC), which aims to reach a final decision within 35 days for full review and 15 days for expedited review. A US FDA Investigational Device Exemption is not required before a study starts here. We set out the pathway in more detail on our page about early feasibility and pilot studies in New Zealand.

How we work with sponsors

• Feasibility first. We tell you plainly whether we can recruit your population and measure your endpoints before anyone commits.
• Measurement-driven. Standardised protocols, repeated measures and calibrated instruments are the basis of every study we run.
• Investigator-led and industry-sponsored work. We take on both, and we are open to co-designing protocols for early-stage products.

Start a conversation

Send a short description of your product, target population and endpoints to research@nzerc.com, or use the sponsor enquiry form. We will reply with an honest view on feasibility and the next step.