ASSOCIATIONS

• 2017 marks 90 years of The World Council of Optometry.

COMPANY NEWS

• ABB Optical Group offers education in basic lensometry, April 27, 12:30 to 1:30, via webinar, and advanced lensometry, April 27 1 to 4 p.m. in Almeda Calif. To register, send an email to education@primaryeye.net, or visit primaryeye.net .
• Alcon supported eye health in 2016 with nearly 650 medical missions, serving more than 480,000 patients and facilitating more than 47,000 surgeries. Total market value of the donated products and equipment is nearly $73 million. The Alcon Foundation also provided $5.4 million in cash grants.
• Allergan Pharmaceuticals has entered into a strategic research and development alliance with Editas Medicine to license up to five of Editas’s genome-editing ocular programs.
• Essilor will support no interest financing for up to six months for qualifying patients who purchase its premium lenses, including Varilux, Crizal, Transitions, Xperio UV and Eyezen. In related news, Essilor and NineSigma announced three winners in the See Change Challenge: Adaptive EyeWorksBvba, Belgium; IPSELIOS SAS, France, and TEAMS Design USA Inc. Winners, who submitted solutions to provide better access to vision care, are awarded €25,000.
• Mitotech S.A.’s SkQ1 ophthalmic solution, a mitochondria-targeted antioxidant designed for the treatment of dry eye disease, has received two U.S. patents covering ophthalmic and oral formulations.
• iTreehouse Health LLC, a company focused on treating myopia in children, appointed Don Fox to its board of managers in preparation for expansion.
• Shire appointed Joe Boyd to director, marketing development for its ophthalmics team.

EVENTS

• The IACLE Congress 2017 on Contact Lens Education will have a theme of translating knowledge into increasing contact lens penetration. The congress is set for Sept. 9 to 10 in Hyderbad, India, before the World Congress of Optometry. Visit iacle.org .
• IDOC hosted more than 400 independent optometrists, staff members and vendor partners at its National Conference in Orlando in February. It will host a National Meeting in Denver in October and return to Orlando for its National Conference again in February 2018. Visit Idoc.net .
• SECO International completed its 94th annual meeting in Atlanta with more than 6,000 optometrists and ophthalmic professionals in attendance, 100 speakers and 200 CE courses. In other news, SECO International elected a new president and slate of officers: Lynn Hammonds, O.D., president; Emilio Balius, O.D., president-elect; J. Max Ernst, O.D., vice president; Max Raynor, O.D., treasurer; Richard Durocher, O.D., secretary; and Ted McElroy, O.D., immediate past president.

FDA NEWS

• Bausch + Lomb and Nicox, SA, announced the FDA has set a PDUFA date of August 24, 2017 for its decision on the New Drug Application for latanoprostene bunod ophthalmic solution, 0.024%, a single-agent IOP-lowering drop that is dosed once daily.
• Nicox has resubmitted the New Drug Application for AC-170, a cetirizine eye drop for the treatment of ocular itching associated with allergic conjunctivitis. The drug’s provisionally approved brand name is Zerviate. Visit Nicox.com .

NONPROFIT

• The American Diabetes Association released its 2017 Standards of Care, through the journal Diabetes Care. The Standards of Care states, in part, that patients who have central-involved diabetic macular edema should undergo anti-VEGF therapy, and those who have proliferative diabetic retinopathy may benefit from anti-VEGF as an alternative or addition to panretinal photocoagulation.
• The winners of Optometry Giving Sight’s World Sight Day Student Challenge include: University of Montreal School of Optometry, University of Waterloo School of Optometry and Vision Science and University of Houston College of Optometry. The prize is a travel stipend and is offered in partnership with VOSH International.
• Think About Your Eyes facilitated more than 1.15 million exams in 2016. Also, more than $494 million in clinical fees and eyewear can be attributed to these exams. OM