NEWSspectrum
CooperVision Announces Inaugural Best Practices
CooperVision, Inc. has unveiled the 2015 Best Practices. This inaugural class of 10 honorees was chosen after a nationwide search for eyecare practices that thrive to recognize and celebrate visionary, innovative, and even unexpected aspects of care delivery that best serve patients and elevate the profession.
This year’s honorees are:
• Advanced Eye Care Professionals, P.C. – Oak Lawn, IL
• Coan Eye Care – Ocoee, FL
• Eola Eyes – Orlando, FL
• The Eye Doctors – Tampa, FL
• Family Eyecare of Roswell – Roswell, GA
• San Ramon Family Optometry – San Ramon, CA
• Somers Eye Center – Somers, NY
• VisionArts Eyecare Center – Fulton, MO
• Vision Health Institute – Orlando, FL
• Wilson Eye Center – Valdosta, GA
All U.S. optometry practices currently fitting contact lenses were eligible to submit themselves for consideration. Candidates were evaluated and honorees selected by a panel of judges including Jason Compton, OD, FAAO, Compton Eye Associates and an American Optometric Association board member; Alan Glazier, OD, FAAO, Shady Grove Eye and Vision; Andrew Sacco, OD, FAAO, Sacco Eye Group; Gary Orsborn, OD, MS, FAAO, FBCLA, CooperVision’s vice president, Global Professional and Clinical Affairs; and Michele Andrews, OD, director of Professional Affairs, North America, CooperVision. Evaluation was based on insights and experiences shared about the practices’ innovation, patient experience, and business culture.
In the months to come, the 2015 Best Practices will be broadly recognized and presented with opportunities to help educate and elevate the profession through the telling of their stories across the United States. In addition, honorees are invited to attend an educational meeting at CooperVision’s research and development facilities in Pleasanton, CA.
CooperVision will open 2016 Best Practices submissions later this year. The intention is to make the Best Practices program an annual event as part of CooperVision’s commitment to showcasing the dedication of eyecare practitioners to their patients and communities.
To stay up to date on this process and learn more about this year’s honorees, visit www.eyecarebestpractices.com and follow the initiative on Facebook and on Twitter.
FDA Allows Marketing of IOP-Monitoring Lens
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted marketing clearance to a one-time use contact lens that may help identify the best time of day to measure a patient’s intraocular pressure (IOP).
The Triggerfish from Sensimed AG has a sensor embedded in a soft silicone contact lens that detects tiny changes or fluctuations in an eye’s volume. The device is worn for a maximum of 24 hours, transmitting data wirelessly from the sensor to an adhesive antenna worn around the eye. A portable data recorder worn by the patient receives information from the antenna and can transfer the data via Bluetooth to the clinician’s computer, which shows the range of time during the day that the pressure of the eye may be increasing. The device does not actually measure IOP, is not intended to be a diagnostic tool, and it is not used to correct vision.
The Triggerfish is indicated for use in adults age 22 and older under the direction and supervision of a healthcare professional. Clinical data supporting the marketing authorization included several studies of the safety and tolerability of the lenses and the effectiveness of the device measurement, demonstrated by showing an association between the Triggerfish device output and IOP fluctuation.
JJVCI Names President, NA
Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. (JJVCI) has appointed Peter Menziuso to the role of President, North America, JJVCI. In his new role, Mr. Menziuso will be responsible for the Vision Care U.S. and Canadian businesses. He has more than 20 years of experience building business and brands at Johnson & Johnson (J&J), most recently as Worldwide Vice President of Marketing for the J&J Diabetes Care Companies.
Prior to this role, he held several leadership positions within LifeScan, where he oversaw North American Animas (insulin delivery), OneTouch (LifeScan blood glucose monitoring), and Janssen (oral Type 2 diabetes therapy) sales and marketing activities.
Mr. Menziuso began his new role on March 14, 2016, succeeding Laura Angelini who has accepted a new leadership position within J&J.
B+L Holds Innovation Summit
Bausch + Lomb continued its educational and training initiative for eyecare professionals (ECPs), offering them the opportunity to experience and learn about innovations in contact lens technology. The B+Lieve Innovation Summit took place from March 4 to 5, 2016, in Orlando, FL, introducing more than 400 ECPs to the company’s newest innovation, Bausch + Lomb Ultra for Presbyopia contact lenses, which launched last month.
The event provided ECPs the opportunity to learn about the 3-Zone Progressive design; hear from other ECPs who have successfully incorporated Bausch + Lomb’s MoistureSeal technology and 3-Zone Progressive design in their practices; participate in training sessions to learn how to fit Bausch + Lomb Ultra for Presbyopia contact lenses in accordance with the fitting guide; and experience the lenses themselves.
The event also featured keynote speakers Paul Karpecki, OD, FAAO, from Koffler Vision Group in Lexington, KY; Mile Brujic, OD, from Premier Vision Group in Bowling Green, OH; and Mark Wright, OD, from the Solution Center in Westerville, OH.
NCC 2016 Reaches New All-Time High
The 2016 Dutch biennial contact lens meeting, NCC, recently marked its sixth edition. The congress was held March 13 and 14, 2016 in Veldhoven, near Eindhoven in The Netherlands. It featured lectures, workshops, poster presentations, panel discussions, and the first ever “Olympic Speakers Debate.” In addition, a major exhibition featured all known suppliers of contact lenses, contact lens solutions, and other contact lens-related products.
More than 1,800 unique visitors attended the meeting for one or both days. Participants came from more than 20 countries, although 88% of participants registered were from Belgium and the Netherlands.
This edition’s theme was “Get in Charge,” which refers to the changing role of eyecare professionals and also to the interactivity of the congress. Participants were able to participate actively during presentations—attendees were able to join the discussion from their smartphones and to vote on different statements, increasing the interaction between the presenters and participants.
This edition also showed a close collaboration between the NCC and the British Contact Lens Association (BCLA). This scientific partnership confirms that the NCC is now the leading congress in Europe. In addition, the NCC has initiated its own research, which will create added value for the conference and the profession.
The Dutch Contact Lens Congress 2018 will be held on Sunday, March 11, and Monday, March 12, 2018. Additional information and pictures from this year’s NCC are available at www.ncc2016.com/?lang=en.
Myolite Receives Second Patent
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a second patent to Myolite, Inc., which aims to reduce the incidence of myopia and regulate the progression of myopia through the use of protective lighting systems.
The patent, titled Electromagnetic Radiation Refractive Therapy, was issued to inventor and vision scientist Jerome A. Legerton, OD. It claims that the intracellular signal transduction networks that regulate eye growth can be regulated by light sources when such light sources are controlled to deliver the proper chromaticity, amount, direction, and duration of light.
The two most recent Myolite patents teach the concept of electromagnetic radiation refractive therapy and describe how specific light sources with emission in the visible spectrum can be placed in spectacle lenses, contact lenses and spectacle frames. A third pending patent teaches a Protective Lighting System primarily intended for classroom use to mitigate the decrease in time spent outdoors by a significant number of young school-age children.
Myolite anticipates that the use of electromagnetic radiation refractive therapy, as described in the patents, will complement refractive error regulation by pharmaceutical intervention and peripheral defocus by way of corneal refractive therapy and multifocal contact lenses.
Valeant Seeking New CEO
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. announced last month that its board of directors has initiated a search for a candidate to succeed J. Michael Pearson as CEO. Mr. Pearson will continue to serve as CEO and a director until his replacement is appointed.
Valeant also announced that William A. Ackman, CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, L.P., will join its board of directors, effective immediately. Mr. Ackman, whose firm has a 9.0% stake in Valeant, will join Pershing Square’s Vice Chairman, Stephen Fraidin, on the board.
As the maximum size of Valeant’s board currently is fixed at 14 directors, Katharine B. Stevenson voluntarily resigned from the board to permit Mr. Ackman’s appointment. The board requested that former CFO Howard Schiller tender his resignation as a director, but at press time Mr. Schiller had not done so.
On Feb. 22, 2016, based on the work of an ad hoc committee of the board established to review allegations regarding the company’s relationship with Philidor and related matters, as well as additional work and analysis by the company, the company preliminarily determined that approximately $58 million in net revenue relating to sales to Philidor in the second half of 2014 should not have been recognized upon delivery of product to Philidor.
CooperVision Updates OptiExpert App
CooperVision has launched a toric calculator to its OptiExpert app, complementing the existing multifocal calculator. The free app is available for iOS and Android devices and provides initial diagnostic contact lens suggestions from CooperVision’s product families. To download the app, practitioners should speak to their CooperVision business development manager to obtain a password and then visit the App Store or Google Play Store.
The new toric calculator offers an efficient way to calculate a suggested initial diagnostic toric contact lens for each patient. The practitioner inputs a patient’s most recent spectacle prescription, and the app suggests the toric contact lenses that may result in fitting success. OptiExpert also takes into consideration back vertex distance adjustment and on-eye orientation, while supporting any refinement required, based on the practitioner’s observation of the toric axis location marker.
INDUSTRY BRIEFS
■ Dr. Jean-Louis Blanchard, co-founder of Blanchard Contact Lenses, passed away on Feb. 18 at the age of 91. Dr. Blanchard was one of the pioneers of “contactology” in Quebec. According to the company, he traveled the world to learn and share his knowledge of contact lenses. Dr. Blanchard’s contributions to the contact lens manufacturing industry were recognized on many occasions with various awards, such as the American Academy of Optometry’s Founders’ Award. In addition, the Optometry School of the University of Montreal considered him a founder of the profession of optometry. Memorial services were held on March 18 and 19.
■ Jack Hartstein, MD, passed away on March 12 at the age of 91. He has served as a clinical professor of ophthalmology at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and as Medical Director of the Contact Lens department at Barnes Hospital. He is former chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at St. Luke’s Hospital. He has authored three textbooks on contact lenses for eyecare professionals and was the former editor-in-chief of the Contact and Intraocular Lens Medical Journal. He was a member of the American Medical Association, American Academy of Ophthalmology, Contact Lens Association of Ophthalmology, MD-OD Contact Lens Foundation of St. Louis, and an Advisory Board member of the GP Lens Institute.
■ Alcon, a division of Novartis, was awarded Product of the Year for Clear Care Plus with HydraGlyde, in the Eye Care category of the 2016 Consumer Survey of Product Innovation. Product of the Year Award selection is based on a nationally representative survey of 40,000 consumers, across 29 categories. This is the first-ever Product of the Year Award for Alcon.
■ Shire has appointed Kathy Kobe as head of U.S. Sales, Ophthalmics. Ms. Kobe brings more than 24 years of pharmaceutical experience, with 10 years focused in ophthalmics and other years in orthopedics, cardiovascular, osteoporosis, neuroscience, and gastrointestinal brands. She joined Shire as vice president of U.S. Sales for the Neuroscience Business Unit in 2014. In her new role, she will be responsible for building the sales team as well as identifying and executing strategies that will drive the growth of the business.
■ The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently released a Consumer Update titled Contact Lens Solutions with Hydrogen Peroxide: To Avoid Injury, Follow All Instructions. The update included information on the required disinfecting process of hydrogen peroxide solutions for contact lens care and a Checklist for Solutions with Hydrogen Peroxide for consumers to review key points on safety and proper use. The article emphasized the importance of following all product instructions and noted that consumers should never change their lens care system before consulting their eyecare provider.
■ Prevent Blindness, the nation’s oldest volunteer eye health and safety organization, announced the support of OcuSoft Inc. a privately-held eye and skin care company. Because women are at significantly greater risk of blindness or visual impairment compared to men, the company will donate 10% of its gross monthly online sales from www.ocusoft.com to Prevent Blindness during April’s Women’s Eye Health and Safety Awareness Month. The donation will go to support “See Jane See: Women’s Healthy Eyes Now,” a web-based educational campaign dedicated solely to women’s vision health that includes free information and downloadable tip sheets created specifically for women on a variety of issues across the age spectrum. Information will also include symptoms, causes, and treatment options for a variety of conditions. Visit www.preventblindness.org for more information on See Jane See.
■ Vision Source, North America’s largest independent optometric alliance, held its annual member meeting, The Vision Source Exchange, from March 16 to 19 in San Antonio, Texas. Vision Source celebrated 25 years of patient-focused optometry with the 2016 Vision Source Exchange theme “Celebrating Our Past, Forging Our Future.” More than 3,500+ attendees, including doctor members, optical staff, and vendors, were present to commemorate 25 years of independent optometry, making the 2016 Exchange the largest national meeting in Vision Source history. During the 2016 Exchange, attendees were introduced to Vision Source Insight, the exclusive, interactive, innovative, online community of Vision Source. This new Vision Source online community promotes enhanced productivity, practice growth, and collaboration among colleagues.
![]({"src":"/media/23sfcs2x/42016.jpg","focalPoint":null,"crops":[{"alias":"thumbnail","width":1110,"height":700,"coordinates":null}]})