WVA Releases Product Scanning Software Made To Streamline ECP’s Inventory Managment

February 3rd, 2010 | No Comments » |

BURLINGTON, Wisconsin (February 3, 2010) – WVA has released product scanning software (WVA Scan) that allows ECP’s and their staff to reorder product as it leaves their inventory.

“WVA Scan was designed to assist ECP’s in every aspect of managing their trials and inventory . . . saving doctors and staff significant time and money,” says Christopher Fait, VP of sales at WVA.

Scanning Product

Scanning Product

WVA Scan software comes with a portable and easy-to-use scanner the size of a keyless car entry remote. Once product is scanned, the information is stored in the scanner until the ECP is ready to create an order. Plugging the scanner into the computer and starting the WVA Scan software sends the order to WVA’s web site where the doctor or staff can log on and edit, cancel or submit the order.

WVA is both a buying group and a fully authorized distributor for all major contact lens manufacturers including Bausch & Lomb, CibaVision, Coopervision, Vistakon, and Hydrogel Vision. For more information on WVA go to www.wisvis.com.

Scanning Product

Scanning Product

UV-Blocking Contacts Protect Against Sun Damage

January 27th, 2010 | No Comments » |

Sunglasses and hats may not be enough to protect your eyes from the sun.

Read the full article here.

Bausch & Lomb Introduces the Crystalens(R) Aspheric Optic (AO) Lens

January 21st, 2010 | No Comments » |

Crystalens AO is the First Aberration-Free Accommodating IOL

ALISO VIEJO, Calif., Jan. 4 /PRNewswire/ — Bausch & Lomb today announced that it is launching the Crystalens® AO, the first aberration-free accommodating intraocular lens (IOL) with aspheric optics to cataract surgeons worldwide. The announcement follows the recent FDA approval of this newest Bausch & Lomb surgical product. The Crystalens AO, combined with the successful Crystalens HD and the Crystalens Five-0, will further establish Crystalens as the market leader in the premium IOL market.

The Crystalens AO has prolate aspheric surfaces and is designed to be free of spherical aberration. It is designed to improve retinal image quality without compromising depth of field and therefore provides greater quality of distance and intermediate vision.

“We are confident the Crystalens AO is an important addition to the Crystalens portfolio and along with Crystalens HD and Crystalens Five-0 will further establish Crystalens as the gold standard for quality of vision in the premium channel. Some surgeons might assume because the Crystalens has aspheric optics, depth of field will be reduced. However, our comprehensive testing demonstrates the opposite to be true. Not all aspheric lenses are created the same, and other aspheric IOLs have negative spherical aberration, which could reduce depth of field. The Crystalens AO has zero spherical aberration, and the combination of the Crystalens platform and AO optics work together to enhance depth of field,” said Andy Corley, global president, Surgical, Bausch & Lomb.

Crystalens is the only FDA-approved accommodating intraocular lens. Unlike a standard cataract replacement lens, Crystalens is designed to not only eliminate a patient’s cataract but to provide a full range of vision so that the patient can see near, far and everywhere in between. Many Crystalens patients hardly, if ever, need their glasses after surgery. The

Crystalens AO takes the best of Bausch & Lomb’s heritage of aspheric optics and combines it with the company’s Crystalens platform.
“The Crystalens AO provides patients an opportunity to enjoy improved post-operative vision through an increase in contrast sensitivity due to the absence of spherical and higher order aberrations. This, along with the general consensus that the best technology for treatment of presbyopic patients is an accommodating lens, will encourage many surgeons to adopt this new product,” said Jay Pepose, MD, PhD, of the Pepose Vision Institute St. Louis, Mo.

There are three million cataract surgeries every year in the U.S. A cataract is a clouding of the normal clear lens in the eye. When a cataract forms, the natural lens in the eye is replaced by an intraocular lens. The Crystalens is an intraocular lens that is designed not only to fix a patient’s cataract, but to help improve the patient’s full range of vision.

“We know that many surgeons prefer aspheric lenses because they believe that they correct for spherical aberrations and provide better quality of vision. We believe that the Crystalens AO will be viewed very favorably to competitive lenses and will be attractive to a wider range of surgeons and patients,” said Amy Jacobs, director of Global Marketing for the Crystalens.

The Crystalens AO is comprised of proprietary biosil silicone and has a thin and uninterrupted barrier edge. It will be inserted using the CI-28 injector in a controlled manner through an un-enlarged phaco incision which is a routine requirement in today’s cataract surgical procedure.

The Crystalens AO worldwide launch is expected to accelerate through the first quarter of 2010.

For more information about the Crystalens HD, go to www.crystalens.com or call toll free at 1-877-SEE BETTER.

About Bausch + Lomb
Bausch & Lomb is dedicated to bringing visionary ideas to eye health. Its core businesses include contact lenses and lens care products, ophthalmic surgical devices and instruments, and ophthalmic pharmaceuticals. The Bausch & Lomb name is one of the best-known and most respected healthcare brands in the world. Founded in 1853, the company is headquartered in Rochester, N.Y., and employs more than 10,000 people worldwide. Its products are available in more than 100 countries. More information is available at www.bausch.com.

Crystalens is a registered trademark of Bausch & Lomb.

SOURCE Bausch & Lomb

CooperVision Adds Global Professional Relations Role; Richard Clompus Joins Company as Vice President

January 18th, 2010 | No Comments » |

By Kellie Fronk

Pleasanton, Calif., January 18, 2010 — CooperVision today announced that Richard Clompus, OD, FAAO, has joined the company as vice president, global professional relations within the Global Commercial Strategy team. Dr. Clompus will support clinical studies, education, and professional affairs on a worldwide basis in order to further establish CooperVision’s position in the global contact lens industry.

“Richard brings a wealth of experience and technical expertise to this role,”said Jeffrey A. McLean, executive vice president, Global Commercial Strategy, CooperVision. “We look forward to his contribution as we continue to develop our professional relations strategy, clinical programs, and enhance the overall experience of our customers.”

Dr. Clompus most recently served as director of The Vision Care Institute, LLC, supporting student and doctor education in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Prior to that, he was part of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care where he held leadership positions within The Spectacle Lens Group and Vistakon. He is a member of the American Optometric Association, charter member of the AOA Contact Lens Section, and Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry.

Dr. Clompus was also in private practice for 20 years, establishing an innovative optometric practice in West Chester, Pa., providing multidisciplinary eye care and contact lens specialty services. He has exceptional expertise in the use of multimedia technologies for presentations and training, published many journal articles, and is a contributing author to several publications. Dr. Clompus graduated from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry and completed a family practice residency at the University of Alabama School of Optometry in Birmingham.

He and his family will be relocating to CooperVision’s global headquarters in Pleasanton, Calif.

For more information on CooperVision, visit http://www.coopervision.com.

Alcon CEO to recuse himself from takeover decision

January 14th, 2010 | No Comments » |

Read the article here

Cooper Eyes Growth

January 8th, 2010 | No Comments » |

The contact lens market is resistant to recession and will grow by 3-5 per cent in 2010 according to Robert S Weiss, president and chief executive officer of The Cooper Companies, which includes contact lens manufacturer CooperVision. Read the full article here.

Bausch + Lomb Introduces New Corporate Logo and Icon

January 7th, 2010 | No Comments » |

Bausch and Lomb Introduces New Logo

Bausch and Lomb Introduces New Logo

ROCHESTER, N.Y., Jan. 6 /PRNewswire/ — Bausch + Lomb, the global eye health company, today unveiled its redesigned company logo and icon. Both incorporate hues of the company’s traditional blue and green colors, while introducing the plus (+) symbol to represent the organization’s strong commitment to innovation and partnership with practitioners as a leader in eye health.

“Our new corporate identity reflects the ongoing evolution of Bausch + Lomb as we make strides in growing our business for the benefit of medical practitioners, retail partners, consumers and patients around the world,” said Gerald M. Ostrov, the company’s chairman and chief executive officer. “Based on our strong momentum coming out of last year, as well as a number of planned new product launches and market initiatives over the coming months, we believe that 2010 will be a banner year for the company and the millions of people we’re so fortunate to serve each year.”

The new logo and B+L icon will be phased in by Bausch + Lomb over time, co-existing with the former “pathways” logo for the next 18 to 24 months as product packaging and other materials are updated.

The new corporate identity system was designed by Pentagram, the renowned multi-disciplinary design firm.

About Bausch + Lomb

Bausch + Lomb is dedicated to bringing visionary ideas to eye health. Its core businesses include contact lenses and lens care products, ophthalmic surgical devices and instruments, and ophthalmic pharmaceuticals. The Bausch + Lomb name is one of the best-known and most respected healthcare brands in the world. Founded in 1853, the company is headquartered in Rochester, N.Y., and employs more than 10,000 people worldwide. Its products are available in more than 100 countries. More information is available at www.bausch.com.

SOURCE Bausch + Lomb

Novartis to Buy Majority Stake In Alcon

January 5th, 2010 | No Comments » |

By Chris V. Nicholson
International Herald Tribune / January 5, 2010

PARIS – Novartis, the large Swiss drug maker, said yesterday that it would take control of the eye-care company Alcon by buying a majority stake from Nestle for $28.1 billion, raising its own stake to 77 percent. Novartis also said it would like to acquire the rest.

Together with the $10.4 billion paid by Novartis for an initial stake last year, and as much as $11.3 billion of its own shares that it is offering minority shareholders for the remaining 23 percent of Alcon, the $49.8 billion deal looks to be the most expensive merger in Swiss history.

The drug maker is pushing further into the eye-care industry, hoping to capitalize on Alcon’s surgical, pharmaceutical, and consumer eye-care business lines, which reported $6.3 billion in 2008 sales. Novartis already sells contact lenses and eye disease treatments and says with the merger, the combined company would have a product line covering 70 percent of the eye-care sector.

Raymund Breu, chief financial officer of Novartis, said in an interview that the eye-care business had “higher growth rates than many other franchises in the health care sector’’ and that the market expected eye care to stay elevated for another five years.

Breu said that Alcon would be combined with Novartis’s existing eye-care businesses – those that make certain eye-disease treatments, as well as Ciba Vision, which makes Air Optix contact lenses – to form a new division within the drug maker.

“There is little overlap between the businesses,” said Eric Althoff, a spokesman for Novartis, explaining that he did not anticipate antitrust issues because Alcon was more concentrated in surgical treatments, and Novartis in pharmaceutical treatments and consumer products. Among Novartis’s more well-known eye products are GenTeal eye drops, Zaditen Ophtha for seasonal allergies, and Nyogel for ocular hypertension.

Dieter Buchholz, head of equities at Falcon Private Bank in Zurich and who owns Novartis and Nestle shares, said he thought the purchase, whose price had been set in advance, would pay off for the drug maker in the long term.

While the potential cash influx for Nestle reignited speculation about whether the Swiss food giant would enter a bidding war for Cadbury, some observers saw little change in Nestle’s position. “Nestle is living up to the expectation of handing back the cash to shareholders by increasing the buyback,’’ said Marco Gulpers, the head food and beverage analyst at ING Wholesale Banking.

Novartis is purchasing this second portion of Alcon shares for an average price of $180 apiece under a call option agreed to last April, when it bought an initial 25 percent stake from Nestle for about $10.4 billion.

Contact Lens, 1930

January 5th, 2010 | No Comments » |

An interesting article in the New York Times about how far contact lenses have come.

Bausch & Lomb Introduces the Crystalens(R) Aspheric Optic (AO) Lens

January 4th, 2010 | No Comments » |

Read the full article Here.

Read more about Crystalens Technology Here.