KEEP UP WITH INDUSTRY NEWS

between issues of Contact Lens Spectrum by subscribing to our e-mail newsletter, Contact Lenses Today. Visit the CLS site (clspectrum.com/newsletters ) to subscribe.

AAOF ANNOUNCES THE 2021 WILLIAM C. EZELL FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENTS

The American Academy of Optometry Foundation (AAOF) announced the 12 recipients of the 2021 William C. Ezell Fellowships. The Ezell Fellowship program is named after the founding president of the AAOF, William C. Ezell, OD. It was established to provide recognition and support to talented post-doctoral students in pursuit of an advanced degree in optometric research and education. More than 440 William C. Ezell Fellowships have been awarded since the inception of the program in 1949. Funding for these Fellowships is provided by leading optometric companies, private endowments, and other generous business organizations that represent most sectors of the industry. This year’s Ezell Fellows will be honored during Academy 2021 Boston.

• AAO Section on Cornea, Contact Lenses, and Refractive Technologies (CCLRT) Ezell Fellow - Young Hyun Kim, University of California at Berkeley School of Optometry
• American Academy of Optometry (AAO) Ezell Fellow - Jennyffer D. Smith, OD, University of Houston College of Optometry
• AAOF Ezell Fellow - Yiyi (Charlotte) Wang, OD, University of California at Berkeley School of Optometry
• Danne Ventura / Essilor Ezell Fellow - Maureen D. Plaumann, OD, The Ohio State University College of Optometry
• Facebook Ezell Fellow - Rebecca Deffler, OD, MS, The Ohio State University College of Optometry
• Irvin M. Borish / Essilor Ezell Fellow - Neeraj Singh, BSOptom, MPhil, Indiana University School of Optometry
• John N. Schoen Ezell Fellow - Erin Sayoko Tomiyama, OD, MS, University of Houston College of Optometry
• Merton C. Flom Leadership Ezell Fellow - Breanne McGhee, OD, MEd, Pacific University College of Optometry
• Michael G. Harris Ezell Fellow - Erica R. Shelton, OD, MS, The Ohio State University College of Optometry
• Mike Daley / Essilor Ezell Fellow - Rabia Mobeen, University of New South Wales School of Optometry and Vision Science
• Optometric Glaucoma Society (OGS) Ezell Fellow - Janelle Tong, BOptom, University of New South Wales School of Optometry and Vision Science
• Rod Tahran / Essilor Ezell Fellow - Amy Hiu Yan Chow, OD, University of Waterloo School of Optometry and Vision Science ■

INDUSTRY BRIEFS

• Treehouse Eyes announced the launch of a consumer marketing campaign to educate parents about childhood myopia and to drive consultations into its 45 locations around the country. The marketing campaign, which began in mid-April, was scheduled to initially run for three months and targeted parents in the San Francisco Bay and greater Washington, DC metro areas. It includes partnerships with local parent influencers to educate their followers, content sponsorship with parent-focused digital media partner Red Tricycle, local interviews with journalists, and paid social media and targeted Google Ads.
• Johnson & Johnson Vision (JJV) announced that Chandra Mickles, OD, MS, was appointed to the newly created position of North America Professional Education Lead, Myopia. Prior to joining JJV, Dr. Mickles had a very successful career in academia and has been recognized by national optometric institutions and organizations for the important role she played in contact lens education. In this new position, Dr. Mickles will work to further strengthen JJV’s education efforts to empower and train professionals about myopia as well as create new ways of engaging customers through leadership and science, according to the company.
• Professor Earl L. Smith has decided to retire from his role as the Chief Scientist of the International Myopia Institute (IMI) advisory board. He will continue to serve on the board. Professor Smith was part of the founding group in 2015. Professor James Wolffsohn will move into the position of Chief Scientist of the IMI. Professor Wolffsohn has been a member of the IMI advisory board since 2016 and helped to chair the taskforces that developed the IMI white papers in 2019 and 2021. He was previously the head of optometry at Aston University, Birmingham, UK before becoming the deputy executive dean for life and health sciences and is currently the associate pro-vice chancellor, also at Aston University. Professor Wolffsohn’s research focus is on ophthalmic technology mainly related to contact lenses, the tear film, and myopia.
• EyeYon Medical announced that it has received a CE Mark, which gives it approval by the European Union to commercialize EndoArt. EndoArt is a synthetic implant that is designed to replace dysfunctional endothelium in patients awaiting human donor tissue as a first-line treatment for patients who have chronic corneal edema. According to the company, this implant enables practitioners to treat endothelial-related chronic corneal edema with a minimally invasive surgery that erodes the use of human tissue. In May, EndoArt received both China’s Innovative Device Status and the Breakthrough Device Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
• Visus Therapeutics Inc. announced the appointment of six new senior leaders including Tim Grinstead as COO; James Burke as vice president of Research; Patrick Hughes, PhD, as vice president of Pharmaceutical Development; Lisa Simpson as vice president of Clinical Operations and Compliance; Guru Sharma, OD, as director of Ophthalmology and Clinical Development; and Alex Oh as vice president of Intellectual Property.
• Sun Pharma announced that it once again launched its unbranded Dry Eye Gets Personal video campaign for Dry Eye Awareness Month 2021 (July). The premiere video aired in 2020 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeuiUZ6zCLo&t=14s ). In 2021, the company is featuring four distinct videos, each with an optometrist or ophthalmologist (a few who also have dry eye disease themselves) talking about a dry eye patient experience that affected them personally and what they want other eyecare practitioners to know. Each week of July, a new video was released on the Sun YouTube channel. The first 2021 video went live on July 1. The practitioners featured are as follows (in the order that they appeared): Darrell White, MD, founder of Skyvision Centers; Carly Rose, OD, owner, Eyecare on the Square; Rolando Toyos, MD, medical director & founder, and Melissa Toyos, MD, partner and research director, both of Toyos Clinic (interviewing each other); and Doug Devries, OD, co-founder, Eye Care Associates.
• Allergan has announced two new additions to leadership roles in Allergan Eye Care. E. Randy Craven, MD, has joined Allergan Eye Care as medical director of the U.S. medical affairs glaucoma organization. A pioneer of minimally-invasive glaucoma surgery, Dr. Craven previously served as chief, Wilmer Eye Institute–Bethesda and as associate professor of ophthalmology, Johns Hopkins University. Allergan also announced that Scott Schachter, OD, will serve as scientific director of presbyopia and ocular surface disease. Dr. Schachter joins Allergan from the private practice that he founded in Pismo Beach, CA. He is also an adjunct clinical professor at Southern California College of Optometry and is a global ambassador for the Tear Film & Ocular Surface Society.
• Hubble Contacts announced the appointment of Steve Druckman as the company’s CEO. Mr. Druckman will lead the company as it continues to grow and expand its share of the direct-to-consumer contact lens market. Mr. Druckman joins Hubble from 1-800-Flowers.com , where he served most recently as president of Gourmet Foods and Gift Baskets and led several food and confection brands that were acquired and owned by 1-800-Flowers. He is stepping into the CEO role previously held jointly by Hubble co-founders Jesse Horwitz and Benjamin Cogan, who will both remain on Hubble’s board of directors.
• Bausch + Lomb is offering ScleralFil sterile buffered solution for scleral, soft, and GP contact lenses, with no preservatives, on Amazon. According to the company, scleral lens wearers who have ocular surface disease, including dry eye disease, will now have a fast and convenient way to maintain their recommended scleral lens care regimen with increased access to ScleralFil.
• Alcon announced changes to its Executive Committee of Alcon (ECA). Changes take effect Sept. 1. Ian Bell, currently president, International, and a member of the ECA, is named president, Global Business & Innovation. Michael Onuscheck, current president, Global Business & Innovation, and a member of the ECA, will be stepping down from his roles at the company. Raj Narayanan, senior vice president, operational strategy and chief transformation officer, and a member of the ECA, will succeed Mr. Bell as president, International. Sue-Jean Lin, senior vice president & chief information officer, will be appointed as senior vice president, chief information & transformation officer and will add oversight of Alcon’s transformation program to her remit.
• EssilorLuxottica announced its commitment to the Health Care Alliance for Patient Safety (APS) with an annual investment of $450,000 to support legislative efforts to increase patient access to care and to protect the doctor-patient relationship, the company says. Dr. Millicent Knight, Essilor’s senior vice president of customer development, and Dr. Carl Spear, Luxottica’s senior vice president of eyecare, will take active leading roles within the APS as EssilorLuxottica representatives, the company says.
• Santen Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Verkazia (cyclosporine ophthalmic emulsion) 0.1%. Verkazia is a prescription-only, uniquely-formulated oil-in-water cationic emulsion that provides improved ocular bioavailability of cyclosporine, which has been shown to be effective in the management of VKC, according to the company. It works by inhibiting T-cell activation and reducing the level of immune cells and mediators that cause the chronic, severe, potentially debilitating allergic inflammation of the ocular surface that is seen in those affected by VKC. Worldwide, Verkazia is available for the treatment of VKC in select countries across Asia, Europe, and North America.
• Nicox SA announced that its exclusive global licensee Bausch + Lomb has received approval for Vyzulta (latanoprostene bunod ophthalmic solution), 0.024% in the United Arab Emirates. Now approved in 12 countries, Vyzulta is commercialized in the United States (since 2017), Canada (2019), Argentina (2020), Mexico (2020), Hong Kong (2020), and Taiwan (2021). It is also approved in Brazil, Colombia, Qatar, South Korea, and Ukraine.