NEWS spectrum
Dr. Carla Mack Joins B&L
Bausch & Lomb has named Carla Mack, OD, MBA, FAAO, as director, Medical Affairs, Global Vision Care.
In this newly created position, Dr. Mack will contribute to internal and external clinical research, integrated education for eyecare practitioners, and support for eyecare organizations and academic institutions.
"Dr. Mack's initial role will be to enhance our current support of academic institutions in North America and to identify and expand opportunities to educate practitioners, helping them to expand their practices," said Joe Barr, OD, MS, FAAO, vice president, Global Clinical & Medical Affairs and Professional Services, Vision Care. "She will also be our primary contact with the International Association of Contact Lens Educators and a central manager of our publication efforts."
Dr. Mack joins B&L from The Ohio State University College of Optometry where she served as director of Clinic Services and associate professor of Clinical Optometry for the past five years. She also served as editor of Contact Lens Spectrum and the Contact Lenses Today e-newsletter from 2007 to 2008. She is a Diplomate in the American Academy of Optometry section on Cornea and Contact Lenses and served on the Optometric Management editorial advisory board.
| AOCLE Offers Guidelines |
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| The Association of Optometric Contact Lens Educators has developed "Guidelines for Contact Lens Solution and Rewetting Drop Sampling." Included are the organization's recommendations for providing patients with starter kits and rewetting drop samples, including documenting what you provide to patients in their medical record and how to educate patients about the products and their use to encourage proper compliance. The complete guidelines are available on AOCLE's Web site at www.aocle.org. |
GP Makers Tap New Delivery System
AccuLens and ABBA Optical, Inc. recently announced that they are offering patients GP lenses using the SureFit GP Delivery System from Paragon Vision Sciences.
AccuLens is offering the Clarity Plus Extended Add in the SureFit GP Delivery System. SureFit provides practitioners a single-use, two-to-three-lens fitting and dispensing system for Clarity Plus Extended Add. Practitioners can order this lens in SureFit from AccuLens using corneal/spectacle measurements and pupil diameters.
ABBA Optical, Inc. also announced the availability of its MVP 1-Day using the SureFit delivery system. MVP-SureFit provides practitioners a single-use, three-lens fitting and dispensing system for low, moderate and advanced presbyopic patients. The SureFit selection of MVP lens parameters, offered in Paragon HDS material, is designed to simplify fitting, minimize chair time and improve patient convenience by reducing office visits. Practitioners can order MVP-SureFit from ABBA using corneal/spectacle measurements and add power.
"Having the ability to fit and dispense a GP multifocal on day one will maximize practice profitability and lead to satisfied patients referring new patients in to a practice," said Lee Dickerson, ABBA Optical president.
| INDUSTRY BRIEFS |
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| ■ CooperVision has once again expanded the parameters of its Biofinity silicone hydrogel contact lenses. The lens is now available in a sphere power range from +8.00D to –12.00D. ■ As reported in a previous issue, the Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America is offering a free educational brochure, "Eye Health and Allergies," supported by Vistakon's 1•Day Acuvue Moist. The brochure can be viewed at www.aafa.org, and bulk copies are available in packs of 50 at no charge by e-mailing a request including your name and mailing address to eyeallergybrochure@rprny.com. ■ Polyvue Distribution, Inc. has moved. The company's new address is 3810 Oceanic Drive, Suite 209, Ocean-side, CA 92056. The new office number is (760) 754-2220 and the new fax number is (760) 754-2022. The company's e-mail address and toll free number remain the same. ■ As part of its support for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, The Vision Care Institute, LLC, and its sister facility in China provided vision care services and contact lenses to athletes, coaches and staff during the Beijing Olympic Games and Paralympic Games at the Olympic Village Polyclinic, the onsite health center in the Olympic Village. Visitors to the Polyclinic also had educational videos available to them in 10 different languages about vision and eye health developed by Eyemaginations, Inc. The AchieveVision Program was also available to athletes at the Polyclinic. ■ Vision USA, a program of Optometry's Charity, the charitable foundation of the American Optometric Association, has received a $150,000 grant from the Alcon Foundation. To encourage others within the ophthalmic industry to contribute to the Foundation, the Alcon Foundation has also promised an additional $25,000 in the form of a matching grant when other funds are raised. Vision USA provides basic eye health and vision care services free of charge for many uninsured low-income individuals and their families who have no other means of obtaining care. ■ Inspire Pharmaceuticals reports that results from two single-center studies indicate that its topical azithromycin 1% ophthalmic solution (AzaSite) has promising potential as a safe, well-tolerated and highly effective treatment modality for meibomian gland disease (posterior blepharitis) and anterior blepharitis. ■ Alcon, Inc. recently launched its AcrySof Phakic Lens and the new +3.0 Add Power AcrySof ReStor Aspheric IOL outside of the United States. The AcrySof Phakic lens is currently under study in the United States, and the new AcrySof ReStor is currently under review with the FDA. ■ Lensco has been recognized as one of the 2008 Comerica Bank Arizona Companies to Watch. The Phoenix-based Arizona Small Business Association and the Cassopolis, Mich.-based Edward Lowe Foundation, which promotes entrepreneurship, selected Lensco and 49 other winners from more than 300 nominees and 80,000 potential companies across the state. |
B&L Giveaway for Cancer Awareness
Bausch & Lomb is raising awareness for breast cancer this fall by creating 40 limited edition pink Crystallized Swarovski Elements contact lens cases that will be given away during Breast Cancer Awareness month.
The limited edition cases are created with 646 hand-applied crystal components and feature the Susan G. Komen for the Cure ribbon. Each case has a retail value of approximately $350.
B&L's giveaway contest at www.ReNuCares.com ends Oct. 31, 2008. Visitors who download a coupon for ReNu Multi-Plus lens solution will be automatically entered to win one of the limited edition cases. No purchase is necessary to be entered to win. B&L will notify winners by Nov. 15, 2008. B&L will also donate $1 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure for every coupon that is redeemed at a retail store.
The giveaway supplements the two-year partnership B&L has established with Susan G. Komen for the Cure. This year, B&L has committed to raise up to $400,000, with a minimum guaranteed donation of $300,000, for the organization through sales of its ReNu Multi-Plus solution and its online campaign at www.ReNuCares.com.
| FOR THE RECORD |
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| ■ In the September News Spectrum article titled, "AOCLE Workshop Cases Published," Contact Lens Spectrum omitted the following acknowledgement from author Michael G. Harris, OD, JD, MS: "The AOCLE would like to thank the following companies for their generous support of the 2007 workshop: AMO, Alcon, Bausch & Lomb, CIBA Vision, Con-Cise Contact Lens, CooperVision, Menicon, Paragon Vision Sciences, SynergEyes, Teague Training Group, Vistakon and X-Cel Contacts. I would like to thank my colleagues at the University of California School of Optometry, Dr. John Corzine, Dr. Chuck Bailey, and Dr. Meng Lin for their help in organizing and running the workshop." |
Company Ordered to Cease Claims
A United States district court in New York has ordered Ocular Insight, Inc. to permanently discontinue stating or communicating in its advertising or promotional materials or activities certain claims for the company's Clear 58 contact lenses in the United States. In particular, Ocular Insight cannot claim that Clear 58 is approved by the Food & Drug Administration; that Clear 58 is approved by the FDA as a generic equivalent lens to Acuvue 2 (Vistakon) lenses; that Clear 58 is a generic equivalent to Acuvue 2; and that Clear 58 is an exact duplicate or is identical to Acuvue 2.
This injunction followed a complaint filed in July 2008 by Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. "While Clear 58 has been ‘cleared’ for marketing by the FDA, it has not been ‘approved’ by the agency. Furthermore, the FDA does not perform the function of assessing whether a contact lens may be prescribed as a ‘generic equivalent’ lens," said Naomi Kelman, president, Americas, Vistakon.
According to Ms. Kelman, testing of the Clear 58 lens by Johnson & Johnson Vision Care shows that it is different from Acuvue 2 in material respects that would be expected to affect visual acuity, handling and/or comfort.
Mark Levin, president, Ocular Insight said, "We stand by our mission statement, ‘Ocular Insight, Inc. was founded for the express purpose of introducing Substantially Equivalent Contact Lenses (as defined by the FDA) along with state-of-the-art contact lens designs and materials, allowing eye care professionals to — at long last — offer their patients high quality contact lenses, while supporting the professional with advantageous price points and effective profit models.’"
| WEB UPDATE |
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| ■ CooperVision Adds to Online Learning Center CooperVision has added two new free, video-based Continuing Education (CE) courses to its Online Learning center at http://learning.coopervision.com. One of the new courses reviews the benefits of 1-Day contact lenses, and the other discusses the characteristics of silicone hydrogel material. They're offered in conjunction with the Contact Lens and Cornea Section of the American Optometric Association. ■ Vistakon Takes Acuminder to Facebook Vistakon has launched its Acuminder Facebook application at www.acuminder.com/facebook. With this newest application, Acuminder users can receive reminder messages via e-mail and/or alerts in their Face-book newsfeed. Although Acuminder was originally launched as a way to encourage contact lens compliance, Acuminder Facebook reminders can pertain to almost anything including daily medication reminders, doctor's visits, deadlines, important social events and more. Reminders can also be sent to other Facebook users. |
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