NEWSspectrum
TFOS Plans DEWS II
Ten years after launching the original Dry Eye WorkShop (DEWS), the Tear Film & Ocular Surface Society (TFOS) is planning the sequel: DEWS II, which will update the definition, classification, and diagnosis of dry eye disease, critically assess the etiology, mechanism, distribution, and global impact of this disorder, and address its management and therapy.
During the next few months, TFOS will seek to raise funds to support this initiative and will appoint a steering committee. This committee will finalize the DEWS II mission, select additional workshop participants (approximately 70 experts from around the world), establish detailed objectives, and decide upon a timeline.
To recommend participants for DEWS II, contact Dr. David Sullivan at david.sullivan@schepens.harvard.edu.
For the Record
An Industry Brief from the June issue discussed a Decorative Contact Lens Campaign launched by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the American Optometric Association, and the Entertainment Industries Council, warning that decorative lenses can cause serious eye damage if not fitted by an optometrist or ophthalmologist. This should have said licensed eyecare professional, as licensed opticians can also prescribe contact lenses.
JJVCI Repackages Oasys, to Discontinue Advance
Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc., (JJVCI) recently announced that its Acuvue Oasys Brand Contact Lenses is now available in a new six-month supply pack (12 lenses per box). The new six-month supply pack will replace all three-month supply packs (six lenses per box), which were discontinued effective July 1, 2014.
The company stated that a study of product use patterns indicates that patients who used larger pack sizes tended to be more compliant in replacing their lenses biweekly as recommended by their practitioner, had better lens comfort, and were more likely to return to their practitioner the next time they needed an eye examination.
Oasys lenses in the new six-month supply pack will be available in the same parameters as the three-month and annual supply packs.
JJVCI also recently announced that effective March 31, 2015, Acuvue Advance Brand Contact Lenses, Acuvue Advance Brand for Astigmatism, and Acuvue Advance Plus Brand will be discontinued, and revenue lenses will no longer be available for sale from the company. In addition, all remaining parameters of the original Acuvue Brand Contact Lenses will be discontinued on March 31, 2015. Diagnostic lenses for Acuvue Advance and Acuvue Advance for Astigmatism had previously been discontinued, and diagnostic lenses for Acuvue Advance Plus will be discontinued effective Aug. 1, 2014.
To ease the transition, JJVCI is offering a Fitting Fee Reimbursement of up to $100 toward patients’ fitting fees when Acuvue Advance Brand or Acuvue Brand wearers are prescribed an annual supply of any product in the Acuvue Oasys Brand family, 1-Day Acuvue Moist Brand family, or 1-Day Acuvue TruEye Brand Contact Lenses.
DAVE SATTLER RETIRES FROM ALCON
Dave Sattler will retire from Alcon effective in August after 28 years of service. His most recent role was director professional relations, overseeing academic development for US Vision Care. In this role, he strengthened Alcon’s ties to optometry schools and colleges. He also worked with the Alcon Foundation, the city of Fort Worth, and two optometry schools in Texas to help establish an eye clinic for the underserved in downtown Fort Worth.
Dave’s career with Alcon began in 1986 as a sales representative in San Diego. He held a number of positions of increasing responsibility including national account manager, district sales manager, and director of national accounts. In 2008, he assumed the role of director professional relations – Global Optometry, and in 2010 peer-to-peer professional marketing was added to his responsibilities. In 2011, he took on his role in the academic community.
After Dave’s retirement, Tom Duchardt will step in to lead the academic development initiatives for Alcon US Vision Care.
Menicon Appoints Orphanos
Menicon Co, Ltd. recently announced that Scott Orphanos has joined the company as vice president, Sales and Marketing at Menicon America, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary in North America. He will be immediately responsible for launching Menicon’s Miru 1day soft lens, presented in a flat pack.
Mr. Orphanos brings nearly 20 years of experience in the ophthalmic industry to his new role. Most recently, as a consultant, he helped establish a presence for Safilens’ contact lens business in the United States. Before forming his consulting business, he served as executive director of Business Development at Bioconcept, a boutique ophthalmic product development company based in New England. He held several positions of increasing responsibility at Biocompatibles Eyecare, launching Proclear Compatibles in the United States. He began his career in the industry at Bausch + Lomb in the early 1990s.
BCLA Offers Many Ways to Learn
Held at the ICC Birmingham from June 6 to 9, the 38th British Contact Lens Association (BCLA) Clinical Conference and Exhibition attracted a total of 1,110 registered delegates and exhibition visitors from 51 different countries.
An “On the Sofa” session invited delegates to discuss topics such as myopia control, inflammatory responses and silicone hydrogels. Also, an “Ask the Oracle” session gave delegates practical insider tips on how to get more involved with conference presenting, including how to write and submit abstracts and case reports, and the route to being published in the science journals.
The second Global Contact Lens Forum, jointly organized by the BCLA and Vision Expo International, was held during the conference.
Other highlights included the viewing of a video showing Demodex folliculorum; Dr. Heiko Pult’s presentation of the 2014 Irving Fatt Memorial Lecture; and a “live surgery” event with Professor Sunil Shah undertaking a standard modern day phacoemulsification procedure with implantation of an intraocular lens, followed by a Lensar femtosecond laser cataract procedure with a premium lens implant.
Antonio Calossi won this year’s photo competition with his piggyback image. The 2014 poster competition winner was Joan Gispets with “Corneal and anterior chamber parameters in keratoconus.” The 2014 Da Vinci Award winner was Alex Hui, and the 2014 Dallos Award went to Pauline Kang. In addition, Dr. Paul Rose, inventor of the Rose K lens for keratoconus, was named as the recipient of the first-ever BCLA Industry Award, and Dr. Shehzad Naroo, editor in chief of the Contact Lens & Anterior Eye, was awarded an Honorary Life Membership of the BCLA.
The 39th BCLA Clinical Conference and Exhibition will take place at the ACC Liverpool, U.K., from May 29 to June 1, 2015.
IACLE Names Contact Lens Educators of the Year
The International Association of Contact Lens Educators (IACLE) presented the first IACLE Contact Lens Educator of the Year awards at the British Contact Lens Association Clinical Conference last month to recognize and reward achievements in contact lens education. Supported by the BCLA and sponsored in this first year by CooperVision, three awards were presented, one for each of IACLE’s three global regions.
The 2014 IACLE Contact Lens Educators of the Year are:
IACLE Asia Pacific Contact Lens Educator of the Year — Dr. Rajeswari Mahadevan of Sankara Nethralaya Medical Research Foundation, Chennai, India.
IACLE Americas Contact Lens Educator of the Year — Dr. Sergio Garcia of University of La Salle, Bogotá and the University Santo Tomás, Bucaramanga, Colombia.
IACLE Europe / Africa – Middle East Contact Lens Educator of the Year — Dr. Eef van der Worp, affiliated with the University of Maastricht, the Netherlands.
The Educator awards are new for 2014 and were based on the recipients’ contributions to contact lens education over many years.
INDUSTRY BRIEFS
■ The GP Lens Institute is launching a module on GPLI.info pertaining to commonly asked questions of the laboratory consultants with responses from multiple consultants representing CLMA member laboratories. Twenty common questions and their answers are provided within the following 10 categories: benefits of your laboratory consultant; information you can provide to your laboratory consultant; resources provided by your laboratory consultant; GP lens material selection/plasma treatment; surface wettability problems; lens design selection in high astigmatism; GP multifocal applications and troubleshooting; keratoconus management; scleral lens applications and resources; and corneal reshaping applications and resources.
■ CooperVision, Inc. introduced a new mobile application (app) that provides U.S. consumers with access to useful contact lens information and tools, including ways to find a nearby practitioner, to identify potentially ideal lenses to discuss with their eyecare practitioner, and a customizable reminder that will sound an alert when it is time for contact lens replacement. The app is available for iOS and Android devices and can be downloaded by visiting the App Store, Google Play, or www.coopervision.com/consumer-mobile-app.
■ A new study will investigate whether commercially available, soft bifocal contact lenses slow the progression of nearsightedness in children. Investigators at The University of Houston (UH) and The Ohio State University (OSU) Colleges of Optometry were awarded grants from the National Institutes of Health’s National Eye Institute. The Bifocal Lenses In Near-sighted Kids (BLINK) Study is a multicenter randomized clinical trial that will follow nearly 300 children over the course of three years. Dr. David A. Berntsen, an assistant professor in the UH College of Optometry, is the principal investigator for the UH clinical site of this collaborative effort. The other members of the team are BLINK Study chair and OSU associate professor Dr. Jeffrey J. Walline; OSU professor Dr. Donald O. Mutti, who is the principal investigator at the OSU clinical site; and OSU research associate professor Lisa A. Jones-Jordan, who is the director of the data coordinating center. The investigators plan to begin enrollment in the next few months and to complete recruitment within one year.
■ ABB Optical Group updated its online Annual Supply Tutorial with more staff training tools. This value-added service is available on abbconcise.com and opticaldg.com exclusively for ABB Optical Group accounts and their office staff. The tutorial provides training with strategies for presenting and closing the sale on annual supplies of soft lenses. ABB Optical Group also has developed many tools available for accounts with the Patient Retention Program Toolbox.
■ Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. has launched a free educational resource, The Sun & Your Eyes: What You Need to Know. This resource includes important information on the unexpected sources of ultraviolet (UV) radiation exposure as well as straightforward, practical advice for reducing risks of UV exposure. It can be viewed or downloaded in the Education and Resources section of www.acuvueprofessional.com. Printed copies (50 sheets per tear pad) are also available by request by writing to SunandYourEyes@rprmc.com. Make sure to include your name and mailing address with all requests.
■ Jointly launched by the American Optometric Association (AOA) and the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO), the National Eye Care Workforce Study helps answer critically important questions about how America’s eye health needs will be met over the next decade and beyond. AOA and ASCO organized the study project for which funding was provided by ophthalmic industry sponsors, including Alcon, Essilor, Hoya Vision Care, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc., Luxottica, TLC Vision, and Transitions Optical. The three documents from the National Eye Care Workforce Study are available at AOA.org/Marketplace.
■ Shire recently formed an Ophthalmics Business Unit (BU), and appointed Reza Haque, MD, PhD, as Therapeutic Area Head for Ophthalmology. Dr. Haque will be responsible for overseeing the continued development of lifitegrast, the company’s retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) product, and any future molecules in ophthalmics. Prior to joining Shire, he served as global program head and head of Professional Affairs North America at Bausch + Lomb. He joins newly appointed Shire Ophthalmics BU Head, Robert Dempsey, who reports to Shire’s Neuroscience BU Head, Perry Sternberg.
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