News

Allergan Inc. and Molecular Partners AG have entered into a license agreement for a phase II proprietary therapeutic protein being investigated as a possible treatment for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic macular edema (DME)..

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a patent to Iridex Corp. that applies to a group of laser handpieces used in invasive ophthalmic surgical procedures, according to the company.

Beginning in 2012, federal employees will be able to donate to the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) Foundation through payroll deductions. ?The ASCRS Foundation is pleased to be eligible for inclusion in the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) charity list,? said ASCRS Chairman Richard Lindstrom, MD.

Hugh R. Parry has been named chairman of the board of AMD Alliance International (AMDAI), an international organization dedicated exclusively to macular disease.Parry, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness America, was appointed during the annual board meeting of AMDAI in New York on April 16, 2010.

Prevent Blindness America?s fifth annual online auction kicked off May 2, and runs until May 25. The auction gives the public the opportunity to help fund sight-saving services by bidding on and purchasing a wide variety of donated items. Participants may either bid on an item or purchase it immediately. All proceeds from the auction will go to fund vision and eye health education programs across the country.

As summer approaches, the Vision Care Institute (VCI) is reminding ophthalmologists and the general public about the importance of protecting eyes from damage by the sun?s ultraviolet (UV) rays. The VCI, citing its study, Global Attitudes and Perceptions About Vision Care, said that although 85% of Americans recognize that UV rays can damage their eyes, only 65% wear sunglasses for protection, and even fewer (39%) make sure their children wear sunglasses.

Costa has created a prescription sun lens program using the company?s proprietary 580 lens in two proprietary materials: Trivex and glass.

PRN PharmaFarm LLC has introduced the PharmaFarm virtual incubator. The new service is designed help establish new ophthalmic start-ups by providing consulting services and filling short-term personnel positions.

VSP Vision Care and Vistakon, a division of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc., have announced an exclusive satisfaction guarantee on one of Vistakon?s propriety contact lens brands (Acuvue).

TearLab Corporation has been granted a U.S. patent that allows the company to build upon its non-invasive in vitro diagnostic platform to expand testing beyond tear film osmolarity for dry eye disease.

SynergEyes Inc.?s second-generation silicone hydrogel hybrid contact lens (Duette) has been prescribed to more than 3,000 patients in 700 practices across 47 states since it became available nationwide Jan. 1, according to the company.

STAAR Surgical Co. has received CE Mark approval for a single-piece IOL (nanoFLEX Collamer) and the V4c design of its implantable contact lens ([ICL]; Visian Implantable Collamer Lens). ^ CE mark approval allows the company to market the products in the European Economic Area (EEA) and can serve as a foundation for additional approvals in countries outside the EEA.

Transitions Optical Inc. has a new campaign and contest, ?Life Less Squinty,? designed to promote the benefits of its lenses for glare and ultraviolet light protection.

Leica Microsystems GmbH now has access to the portfolio of patents held by Olympus America Inc. in the field of digital pathology and virtual microscopy through a nonexclusive worldwide licensing agreement signed by the two companies.

Glen Bradley, PhD, MBA, has joined the Alimera Sciences Board of Directors and its audit committee.

Santinelli International and Nidek are commemorating the 20-year anniversary of their business alliance this year.

May 1 is the nomination deadline for the New York Academy of Medicine Lewis Rudin Glaucoma Prize.

Look for an FDA decision about Regeneron Pharmaceuticals? biologics license application (BLA) for a fusion protein (VEGF Trap-Eye) for the treatment of the neovascular form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) by Aug. 20 now that the agency has granted the company?s request for priority review.

Rayner Intraocular Lenses Ltd. was included in The [London] Sunday Times PricewaterhouseCoopers Profit Track 100 ?Ones to Recognize.?

Transitions Optical has been named a recipient of the Gallup Great Workplace of the Year Award for the second consecutive year.

People can enter to win prizes in Vistakon?s Acuvue 1-Day Contest through May 23 by submitting a photo and a one-sentence caption about their aspirations at www.facebook.com/acuvue; see the site for details.

Prevent Blindness America (PBA) has received a grant from the Allergan Foundation to enable the organization to develop a Spanish language version of its online Diabetic Eye Disease Educator Program.

Carl Kupfer, MD, who directed the National Eye Institute (NEI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for 30 years, died April 7 after a long illness.

OCuSOFT officially kicked off construction of its new corporate headquarters in Rosenberg, TX, with an April 13 groundbreaking ceremony.

The Bascom Palmer Eye Institute (BPEI) of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and Keio University School of Medicine in Tokyo have launched a Japan Eye Rescue Mission to assist that country with recovery from the Tohoku-Pacific Ocean Earthquake.

The Cornea Research Foundation of America is conducting a national clinical study comparing visual results, patient satisfaction, and quality of life issues as they relate to LASIK and contact lenses.

The length of the ragweed season at latitudes above 44 degrees North ?which includes many states in the midwestern and northeastern U.S. ? has increased by as much as 13 to 27 days since 1995, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

PixelOptics and Midland Laboratories of St. Louis, MO, have signed a distribution agreement that makes Midland Laboratories part of the emPower limited lab network in the United States.

"This summer, children across the U.S. have a chance to win a $25,000 scholarship and become the face of Star Pupils, the national children?s eye health program from Prevent Blindness America (PBA). Beginning in August, PBA will begin accepting entries in its Most Beautiful Eyes contest. Parents of children zero to 17 years old can enter their child by submitting a photo to the Star Pupils page on Facebook. "

Vision-Ease Lens (VEL) has reinstated the availability of nearly all of its product styles, 17 months after a fire at the company?s manufacturing facility in Jakarta, Indonesia, led to a temporary suspension of some styles. No employees were injured in the November, 2009 fire, but production was halted at the facility while it was rebuilt.