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AAOF ANNOUNCES SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS

The American Academy of Optometry Foundation (AAOF) and VSP Global announced the recipients of this year’s Practice Excellence Scholarships. Nearly $164,000 were distributed to several top-performing fourth-year optometry students in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada. The scholarships are funded by VSP Global and administered through the AAOF.

Two recipients from each of the 25 schools and colleges of optometry were selected from nominations submitted by their individual institutions. Scholarship recipients were selected based on key criteria including the students’ commitment to enter the independent practice of optometry and their clinical and academic performance. The recipients were recognized at a special virtual reception hosted by VSP Global.

A full list of the 2020 Practice Excellence Scholarship recipients can be viewed at www.aaopt.org/home/aaof/news-detail/2020/10/29/american-academy-of-optometry-foundation-is-pleased-to-announce-the-2020-vsp-practice-excellence-scholarship-recipients .

The AAOF, in collaboration with Johnson & Johnson Vision, also announced the 2020 J. Pat Cummings Scholarship recipients. This award is bestowed annually to a second- or third-year optometry student who best demonstrates the ideal eyecare standards of practice, achievement in both academic performance and extracurricular activities, and participation with other professional pursuits such as involvement with patients through internships, community service, and other volunteer activities. The full list of 2020 J. Pat Cummings Scholarship recipients is available at www.aaopt.org/home/aaof/news-detail/2020/10/20/american-academy-of-optometry-foundation-is-pleased-to-announce-the-2020-johnson-johnson-vision-j.-pat-cummings-scholarship-recipients .

In addition, the AAOF announced the recipients of the 2020 Vincent Salierno Scholarships. Vincent Salierno was on the board of directors of the Columbus Hospital in New Jersey. His family valued and continued his philanthropy. After his death in 1973, his widow Rose established the Vincent Salierno Scholarship Fund with AAOF to provide scholarships to students in the field of optometry. Students pursuing an optometry degree are nominated by their institution for this scholarship. Each recipient will receive $2,000 to apply to his or her tuition. The Vincent Salierno Scholarship is eligible for automatic renewal provided that the recipient maintains a 3.0 cumulative grade point average and is enrolled in a full-time course of study leading to an optometry degree. Continued eligibility shall be determined annually. This year’s recipients are Kenneth Dang, New England College of Optometry; Der Vang, Midwestern University Arizona College of Optometry; Richard Martin, Pacific University College of Optometry; Ryan Sandberg, Southern California College of Optometry at Marshall B. Ketchum University; and Sarah Supak, University of Houston College of Optometry.

INDUSTRY BRIEFS

• CooperVision, Inc. has promoted Michele Andrews, OD, to vice president, Professional & Government Affairs, Americas. In this newly created role, she is responsible for fostering collaboration between the company and eyecare professionals (ECPs) through advocacy, philanthropy, and education. CooperVision Specialty EyeCare also created a regional business structure to more closely integrate its portfolio of Paragon, Blanchard, and Procornea specialty contact lens brands and to be closer to customers: Arthur Kung was appointed head of CooperVision Specialty EyeCare China, based in Shanghai; Alex Lamse became head of CooperVision Specialty EyeCare EMEA, based in Eerbeek, Netherlands; and David Raimondo became head of CooperVision Specialty EyeCare Americas, based in Phoenix. In addition, Jean Blanchard has shifted from running operations at his eponymous company to leading development and evolution of CooperVision Specialty EyeCare lenses for irregular corneas, building on his experience with Onefit and other keratoconus-focused products; and Rich Jeffries, who formerly led the Paragon business, is now working alongside the recently acquired GP Specialists team as part of their CooperVision Specialty EyeCare onboarding, while also developing Asia-Pacific markets outside of China.
• ABB Optical Group announced a series of enhancements designed to improve the customer experience for eyecare professionals (ECPs). As part of these enhancements, the ABB TRU Returns program seeks to simplify the process of returning soft contact lens products purchased through ABB, according to the company. ECPs who order soft contact lenses and have orders shipped to their practice can return product directly to ABB for full purchase price credit within 90 days after purchase with an accompanying invoice. Orders that are shipped directly to patients can be returned to ABB for the full purchase price within one year after purchase with an accompanying invoice. The company will provide a full refund, even if the box or contact lenses are damaged, provided that all of the lenses are in the box and an invoice is provided.
• Art Optical Contact Lens, Inc. introduced an all-new website—ArtOptical.com . In addition to product details and fitting references for scleral, presbyopia, irregular cornea, and myopia management lens designs, site visitors can find related solutions and supplies, place orders online, and upload topographical maps, fluorescein images, and on-eye videos for assessment by an Art Optical consultant. Practice management tools include an automated credit request portal, downloadable office forms, and more. ArtOptical.com also features lens design calculators for its products as well as common conversion charts and reference guides. Educational videos, interactive tools, and patient resources are also available. In addition, Art Optical has made these resources available to the entire eyecare community—without membership or sign-up required.
• IDOC, an organization of independent eye health practitioners, teamed up with CooperVision to create the Dream it. Do it. Share it. campaign. Together, the organizations sought out professionals who had uplifting stories to share about their lives and their work. A production team captured those stories. Now, they’re part of a growing playlist of short stories. Dream it. Do it. Share it. is currently running across social media, all of which points to the heart of the initiative at the website idoc.coopervision.com , a public-facing site where the stories can be viewed.
• Valley Contax announced the addition of Adeline Bauer, OD, to its team as head of professional relations and of the Custom Lens Immersion Program (CLIP) designed to help practices maximize custom lens fitting success and profitability. Dr. Bauer will share her extensive knowledge in specialty fitting using an immersive contact lens experience to teach other practices how to fit lenses effectively and efficiently.
• Allergan Eye Care announced the retirement of Dave Gibson, associate VP of Consumer Eye Care and Customer Development, after 20 years of service. Since 2009, Mr. Gibson has led Allergan’s Optometric Professional Relations team and has helped launch a variety of programs to support the optometry community. With Mr. Gibson’s departure, Allergan announced the promotion of Marcy DeWalt to executive director, Customer Development and Optometric Professional Relations and of Scott Berg to executive director, Consumer Eye Care Marketing. Ms. DeWalt will lead Allergan’s Optometric Professional Relations team while Mr. Berg will lead Allergan’s Consumer Eye Care team.
• BostonSight announced its HOA Collaborator Program, in which it is partnering with eyecare professionals to offer SmartSight higher-order aberration (HOA) correction technology in specialty lenses. According to BostonSight, its HOA-correcting technology uses an open-aberrometer platform along with a step-by-step guide and consultation to help novice-to-experienced practitioners harness the benefits of HOA correction and improve patient vision. BostonSight Prose and Scleral network partners, or other eyecare practitioners who have access to an aberrometer and are interested in joining the HOA Collaborator Program, may inquire at www.bostonsight.org/hoa-collaborator-program . At this time, there is no additional charge to practitioners to utilize SmartSight HOA technology with any BostonSight lens order.
• Leo Lens Pharma announced the filing of a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigational new drug (IND) application for its lead asset, LL-BMT1, a proprietary drug-eluting, comfort-enhancing contact lens to treat patients suffering from primary open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension and announced securement of a lead investor, the venture arm of a leading global ophthalmic pharmaceutical company, and initial funding in its Seed round fundraising efforts.
• Nevakar Inc. and Zhaoke (Hong Kong) Ophthalmology Pharmaceutical Ltd. (ZKO) have entered into an exclusive licensing agreement for the development and commercialization of Nevakar’s NVK-002 in Greater China (including The People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, and Taiwan), South Korea, and the Southeast Asian territories (including Brunei, Burma [Myanmar], Cambodia, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam). NVK-002 is a novel topical eye treatment for slowing the progression of myopia in children and is currently under clinical evaluation in the Childhood Atropine for Myopia Progression (CHAMP) study, a Phase 3 clinical trial being carried out in the United States and Europe.
• Kala Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Eysuvis (loteprednol etabonate ophthalmic suspension) 0.25% for the short-term (up to two weeks) treatment of the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease. Eysuvis utilizes Kala’s Ampplify mucus-penetrating particle (MPP) Drug Delivery Technology to enhance penetration of loteprednol etabonate into target tissue on the ocular surface.
• CooperVision is expanding its Brilliant Futures Myopia Management Program to multiple countries, including the United Kingdom, Russia, Spain, Portugal, Canada, South Korea, and Taiwan. Brilliant Futures is coming to countries in which MiSight 1 Day has been previously available, such as the United Kingdom where the program launched in October. The program will also be introduced this month in Spain and Portugal, which are current MiSight 1 Day markets. In Canada, the Brilliant Futures program became available at the beginning of November. In addition, the program is launching in countries concurrent with the first availability of MiSight 1 Day. In Russia, this coincides with MiSight 1 Day’s new approval as a therapeutic contact lens and includes eyecare practitioner-focused digital media and virtual events that began in late October. The lens is also newly approved in South Korea for slowing myopia progression, with the program launch commencing this November.
• I-Med Pharma Inc. announced the launch of Tearcheck, a new Health Canada-approved diagnostic and analyzing tool that performs nine exams in less than 10 minutes. Tearcheck, designed and developed by the French manufacturer E-Swin, is a fully automatic screening device that has easy-to-read metrics that provide a visual explanation of patients’ signs and symptoms of dry eye and has a user interface that is intuitive, quick, and easy to use, according to the company. In addition, Tearcheck carries out an interactive Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) questionnaire for eye health, non-invasive breakup time (NIBUT) testing, meibography in both 2D and 3D, visualization of ocular vessels for eye redness testing, enlarged image capture for possible signs of Demodex presence, tear meniscus height evaluation, and an abortive blinking test. It also features two new patented tests: Tear Film Stability Evaluation (TFSE) and Ocular Surface Inflammatory Evaluation (OSIE).

COVID-19 BRIEFS

• In response to increased virtual activity during the coronavirus pandemic, Prevent Blindness has launched Screen Time-Out, an awareness campaign to encourage Americans, especially parents of young children, to introduce regular screen breaks into their daily routines. The Screen Time-Out campaign will live on social media, where device users are already spending a lot of their recreational screen time. Graphics and additional information can be accessed at http://preventblindness.org/screen-time-out .
• CooperVision, Inc. has partnered with The Optical Foundation to sponsor registration to this year’s American Academy of Optometry virtual conference—which was held from Oct. 7 to Oct. 22—for more than 75 optometry students from Ghana. The students, who are in their final year of study, had access to the complete schedule of online educational sessions.
• X-Cel’s new and simplified warranty and returns policy now includes the elimination of add-on fees, including charges for truncation, fenestration, lenticular, notching, and prism, among others. Under this new policy, X-Cel also moved from a return fee upon credit to an exchange fee upon reorder, which will allow for simpler reconciliation of account statements, according to the company. These changes were added to its existing Bounce Back program.
• In an effort to support North American organizations and to further enhance their national presence, Optometry Giving Sight (OGS) awarded 12 organizations with grants up to $5,000. The funding will support their work in providing eye exams and glasses to individuals in underrepresented communities, special project funding to build sustainable vision care efforts, and opportunities to provide diversity and inclusion training to staff, volunteers, and board members. A complete list of funded projects can be found at https://givingsight.org/news/50000-in-covid-relief-funds-awarded-to-12-north-american-charities . OGS plans on continuing to support domestic and international projects.