- AccuLens has acquired an intellectual property patent for OnPoint Alignment Technology. OnPoint is a laser-marked alignment grid that gives direct output to the angle and amount of offset needed for a custom aligned optic. This customization feature allows for precise placement of optics over patients’ visual axis to improve overall visual acuity and reduce glare, shadows, 3D effects, and halos.
- Oyster Point Pharma Inc. announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement under which Viatris Inc. would acquire Oyster Point Pharma. Viatris intends to acquire Oyster Point Pharma as the foundation of its new ophthalmology franchise, recognizing its uniquely talented team, the strength of Tyrvaya (varenicline solution; a nasal spray for the treatment of the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease), and Oyster Point Pharma’s pipeline.
- The World Council of Optometry (WCO) and Alcon have launched an online resource in support of their global, evidence-based dry eye disease education initiative. The website, dryeye.worldcouncilofoptometry.info , features on-demand webinars presented by world-renowned faculty, in-practice tools including clinical studies and white papers, and other professional development resources. WCO and Alcon have also opened registration for “Dry Eye Spotlight 2: Measurement,” the second in a series of global dry eye disease education webinars. The Jan. 31, 2023, webinar, led by Professor James Wolffsohn and featuring Professor Jennifer Craig and Professor Lyndon Jones, explores the signs and symptoms of dry eye and how to confirm a diagnosis. The webinar will be independently presented in three time zones at 5 p.m. HKT/SST, 6 p.m. CET, and 6 p.m. PST.
- Harrow announced the launch of atropine.com , an easy-to-access ordering and marketing portal that is designed specifically for prescribers interested in compounded atropine formulations. All atropine.com prescriptions will be dispensed through ImprimisRx, Harrow’s wholly owned subsidiary.
- CooperVision has added SynergEyes to its CooperVision Specialty EyeCare business unit. SynergEyes is known for hybrid lens technologies and brands, which span the treatment of irregular cornea, presbyopia, and astigmatism. SynergEyes CEO Bob Ferrigno will serve as a consultant with the organization through early 2023 to assist with the transition. Louise Sclafani, OD, vice president of professional affairs for SynergEyes, will join the CooperVision Specialty EyeCare Americas team.
- Visionary Optics announced the appointment of Lynette K. Johns, OD, to the position of director of clinical and scientific affairs. In this role, Dr. Johns will oversee the strategic implementation of scleral and specialty contact lens education, research, and training, as well as support the dissemination of evidence-based data through professional networks.
- Effective Jan. 1, 2023, Tom Quinn, OD, MS, joined the GP Lens Institute (GPLI) in the part-time role of associate director. His responsibilities will include providing regular input into GPLI programs and resources, overseeing GPLI projects and committee activities including the new GPLI online educational journal, serving as chair of the GPLI Leadership Advisory Board, and actively participating as a member of the GPLI Development Committee. Dr. Quinn joins executive director Edward S. Bennett, OD, MSEd, and development and marketing coordinator Beth Anderzhon, as part of the GPLI team.
- Art Optical Contact Lens Inc., in partnership with Contamac, announced the first recipient of their recently launched Specialty Contact Lens Student/Resident Travel Grant program. Emily Gottschalk, OD, was awarded a $750 travel grant to the 2022 American Academy of Optometry meeting, where she presented her poster on decentered optics in multifocal scleral lenses. Dr. Gottschalk is the current Cornea & Contact Lens Resident at the Michigan College of Optometry.
- The Australia and New Zealand Child Myopia Working Group’s released its new report titled, “The Australia and New Zealand Child Myopia Report 2022/23-Reducing the Risk to Vision.” The Working Group presents its recommended Standard of Care for managing myopia, arms parents and carers with advice on action they can take, and encourages parents to start the conversation with their eyecare providers. This report is an adjunct to the inaugural report published by the Child Myopia Working Group in 2018. To download a free copy of the report, visit childmyopia.com .
- Alcon has completed its acquisition of Aerie Pharmaceuticals Inc. Through the transaction, Alcon has added the commercial products Rocklatan (netarsudil and latanoprost ophthalmic solution) 0.02%/0.005% and Rhopressa (netarsudil ophthalmic solution) 0.02%, as well as AR-15512, a Phase 3 product candidate for dry eye disease. Alcon has also acquired a pipeline of ophthalmic pharmaceutical product candidates with the opportunity to leverage Aerie’s existing R&D capabilities.
- Euclid Vision Corp. announced the winners of its inaugural Euclid Resident Scholarship Awards, which recognize innovation in myopia management and orthokeratology. Optometry residents Zachary Reynard, OD, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry; Kevin Feng, OD, Pennsylvania College of Optometry, Salus University; and Cindy Shan, OD, Northeastern State University Oklahoma, College of Optometry, were each awarded $1,000 for their myopia-related educational projects.
- CooperVision has hired Kathryn Richdale, OD, PhD, as part of an ongoing research and development expansion. In her role as a clinical research fellow, Dr. Richdale will work across multiple areas of CooperVision’s clinical affairs on projects related to European Union Medical Device Regulation and the ongoing MiSight 1 Day clinical studies in countries around the world. In addition, Paul Chamberlain, BSc (Hons), has recently been promoted to senior director of research programs and has been appointed to the CooperVision R&D senior leadership team.
- Eyenovia Inc. announced that Bren Kern, who currently serves as Eyenovia’s senior vice president of manufacturing and operations, has been promoted to COO and corporate vice president. Eyenovia also announced that independent director Julia Haller, MD, is stepping down from the company’s board of directors. Upon her departure, Eyenovia’s board will be reduced to seven seats from eight.
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.
The Global Specialty Lens Symposium (GSLS) has named the honorees for this year’s awards to be bestowed at the in-person meeting in Las Vegas on Jan. 18-21, 2023.
• AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
Initiated in 2013, this award is given to distinguished clinicians, scholars, and/or scientists to recognize their lifelong achievements in the field of contact lenses, especially as they relate to specialty contact lenses. The honorees for 2023 are Carina Koppen, MD, PhD, and Deborah Jacobs, MD.
Dr. Jacobs is director of the Ocular Surface Imaging Center at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, and associate professor of ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Koppen is head of the Ophthalmology Division at University Hospital Antwerp.
Both Dr. Jacobs and Dr. Koppen were chosen because they have made tremendous accomplishments in scleral lenses, particularly bridging ophthalmology and optometry along the way.
• RISING STAR AWARD
New for 2023, this award is intended to recognize an emerging leader in the field of cornea and contact lenses. The awardee must demonstrate substantial contributions to the field, outside of what might normally be expected in this early phase of one’s career. The recipient of the inaugural award is Stephen J. Vincent, BAppSc(Optom)Hons, PhD.
Dr. Vincent is an associate professor at the Queensland University of Technology, Australia, and is international relations chair of the Scleral Lens Education Society. He is also a member of the International Advisory Group of the GSLS, a committee member of the Cornea and Contact Lens Society of Australia, and chair of the Optometry Council of Australia and New Zealand Examination Eligibility Committee.
IN MEMORIAM
• Leonard Seidner, OD
Contributed by Edward S. Bennett, OD, MSEd
Leonard Seidner, OD, passed away on Nov. 8 at the age of 96. Dr. Seidner was a true pioneer in the field of contact lens development and application. After graduating from Columbia University, he practiced optometry for 50 years, representing one of the early contact lens practitioners who specialized in difficult-to-fit patients.
He and his brother Joe, an engineer, and longtime associate Anthony Leone established Guaranteed Contact Lens Company, a successful and innovative small manufacturer. In 1970, they launched Polymer Optics Contact Lens Company, and it was soon afterward that he established what will represent the most important component of his legacy: his role in GP lens development.
Soon after establishing his laboratory, he worked with chemist Norman Gaylord, PhD, on a rigid material that could minimize or eliminate the edema-related complications caused by polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) lens wear. The resulting “Gaylord patent,” for the first silicone/acrylate lens material, was awarded in the early 1970s. Syntex Ophthalmics ultimately brought the resulting product, the Polycon I lens, to market in 1979. The rest, as they say, was history. For his efforts, Dr. Seidner has often been referred to as “the father of the GP lens.”
In his later years, Dr. Seidner continued his efforts to produce new and innovative contact lenses, with an emphasis on soft and GP multifocal lenses. He launched the LifeStyle Co. Inc., which emphasized multifocal lenses and—via a joint venture with DuPont—resulted in one of the early silicone hydrogel lenses that was later sold to a major manufacturer.
Any time the quality of life of a patient is improved by the application of GP lenses, we can all express our appreciations to the pioneering work of Dr. Leonard Seidner.
• Dominic “Nick” Siviglia, ScD, PhD
On Nov. 18, Dominic “Nick” Siviglia passed away at the age of 80. Siviglia was also a true innovator in the contact lens field. At 14 years old, he took an after-school job in the office of Robert Morrison, OD, where he discovered he had a talent and keen interest in the world of contact lenses.
In 1962, he founded Lancaster Contact Lens Lab, making contact lenses on a lathe in his living room for local ophthalmologists and optometrists. Eventually, as his skills and business grew, he started his own private practice in Lancaster, PA. He practiced there until his retirement in July 2021.
He was director of the contact lens department at Milton S. Hershey Medical Center (now Penn State Health) from 1974-1979, director of the contact lens department of Osteopathic College of Medicine in Philadelphia from 1979-1980, and a private practitioner in the contact lens department of Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia from 1980-1999.
In 1986, Dr. Siviglia was granted a patent for his Ni-Cone Keratoconus and Post Penetrating Keratoplasty contact lens design. In 1988, he received the first patent for a reverse geometry contact lens design called the NRK.
![]({"src":"/media/qdxlgl1d/cover_cls_0123.jpg","focalPoint":null,"crops":[{"alias":"thumbnail","width":1110,"height":700,"coordinates":null}]})