By Staff
Wednesday, February 20, 2019 12:15 AM
SACRAMENTO, Calif.—A recent California Health Policy Strategies
policy brief finds that the partnership between the
California Optometric Association (COA), Anthem Blue Cross Medi-Cal Health Plan, and community health centers throughout California was successful in connecting diabetes patients with comprehensive care. In this partnership, Anthem Blue Cross Medi-Cal Health Plan reached out to its members with a history of diabetes who had not accessed recommended health screenings, and invited them to the Diabetes Day Clinic at a local health center.
By Staff
Tuesday, February 12, 2019 12:15 AM
RARITAN, N.J.—The
Janssen unit of
Johnson & Johnson has announced a worldwide collaboration and license agreement with
MeiraGTx Holdings (NASDAQ:MGTX), a clinical-stage gene therapy company, to develop, manufacture and commercialize its clinical stage inherited retinal disease portfolio. The portfolio includes leading product candidates for achromatopsia (ACHM) caused by mutations in either CNGB3 or CNGA3, and X-linked retinitis pigmentosa (XLRP). Further, the companies have formed a research collaboration to explore new targets for other inherited retinal diseases and further develop adeno-associated virus (AAV) manufacturing technology, according to an announcement.
By Andrew Karp
Monday, January 21, 2019 12:30 AM
As recently as a decade ago, a mention of digital eye strain (DES) would have most people scratching their heads. Today it’s ubiquitous, a condition of modern life. From toddlers to millennials to seniors, from city dwellers to shepherds in remote mountain villages, no one is immune from DES and its effects, which include dry, irritated eyes, blurred vision and assorted aches and pains. More than half of American adults suffer adverse effects from overexposure to screens, according to The Vision Council, which coined the term digital eye strain.
By Andrew Karp
Monday, January 21, 2019 12:29 AM
As knowledge and awareness of digital eye strain has increased, so too have the number of solutions for alleviating its symptoms. Solutions range from behavioral—reducing screen time, adjusting work spaces, work habits and screen brightness—to a growing range of products designed to prevent or alleviate DES symptoms.
By Andrew Karp
Monday, January 21, 2019 12:28 AM
As part of its ongoing efforts to raise public awareness of digital eyestrain, The Vision Council conducted a media campaign in 2018 in conjunction with Health Vision Month in May. The Vision Council teamed up with actress, journalist, podcaster and TV host Maria Menounos—best known for her correspondence on “E! News”—for a sponsored Instagram post promoting the importance of wearing glasses outfitted with specialized lenses to protect the eyes from digital devices, highlighting product from Eyewear & Accessories (E&A) Division member Marchon Eyewear. Menounos reaches 971,000 followers on Instagram, and her post has received nearly 14,000 likes.
By Andrew Karp
Monday, January 21, 2019 12:27 AM
Many vision researchers believe there is growing evidence that digital screen use is a contributing factor to the spread of myopia worldwide. For example, Essilor USA’s website, Myopiaexperts (https://www.essilorusa.com/myopiaexperts#/), points out that myopia tends to progress during childhood, as the eyes continue to grow and develop.
By Andrew Karp
Monday, January 21, 2019 12:26 AM
Exposure to blue light between 410 and 450 nm contributes to digital eye strain. Vision Monday has compiled an online resource that consists of descriptions of 48 different products that offer blue light management solutions for every situation, both indoors and outdoors.
By Staff
Tuesday, January 15, 2019 12:18 AM
PALO ALTO, Calif.—
SightGlass Vision, Inc. has announced that CYPRESS, a clinical trial to control nearsightedness in children, is now enrolling patients in the U.S. and Canada. This CYPRESS study will evaluate the safety and efficacy of SightGlass Vision’s novel lenses compared to standard lenses to reduce the rate of progression of myopia in children between the ages of six and nine over the course of 36 months. The multicenter, double-blinded, randomized controlled trial will enroll 255 patients across 14 sites in the U.S. and Canada. SightGlass expects to complete trial enrollment by the end of Q1 2019, and to report their initial results in 2020, which will later be accompanied by additional data after a longer-term follow up.
By Staff
Friday, January 4, 2019 12:15 AM
BALTIMORE—A national employee benefits provider finds that cutting vision health insurance benefits may prompt up to one-third of working Millennials to look for a new job. According to an online survey conducted by Unum of more than 1,200 people working in the U.S., 34 percent of people aged 25 to 34 consider vision insurance to be a key factor when choosing (or leaving) an employer.
By Staff
Tuesday, December 11, 2018 12:15 AM
CHARENTON-LE-PONT, France—
Essilor commits to further expanding its unique inclusive business and philanthropic programs to eradicate unprotected and uncorrected poor vision in the
Kingdom of Bhutan, where 25 percent of the population suffer from uncorrected refractive errors and much of the population is at risk of exposure to UVA/UVB rays due to high altitude. Last week, the Essilor Group signed letters of intent with the Royal Government of Bhutan and the Central Monastic Body to sustainably strengthen the country’s vision care infrastructure.
By Staff
Wednesday, November 14, 2018 12:15 AM
CHICAGO—
Prevent Blindness is seeking nominations for the
2019 Jenny Pomeroy Award for Excellence in Vision and Public Health. The award will recognize an individual, team, or organization that has made an outstanding contribution to the field of public health, as well as to vision and eye health worldwide, according to a release from Prevent Blindness. The deadline for submissions is Dec.13, 2018. President and CEO of Prevent Blindness, Jeff Todd, said “Promoting new and innovative approaches to vision and eye health challenges is essential to our mission of preventing blindness and preserving sight.
By Staff
Tuesday, November 13, 2018 12:24 AM
SINGAPORE—The
Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC), the
Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI) and
Johnson & Johnson Vision have announced a $26 million research collaboration to tackle myopia, the largest threat to eye health this century, according to an announcement on Monday. By 2050, half of the world's population is projected to be myopic, with 1 billion expected to have high myopia, a severe state of the condition that can lead to retinal disease with an increased risk of blindness, the announcement noted.
By Staff
Wednesday, November 7, 2018 12:15 AM
MANALAPAN, N.J—The
Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Association (NORA) and
Concussion Legacy Foundation (CLF), have developed a new educational resource titled Common Vision Problems & Symptoms Following a Concussion. According to a release from NORA, the resource will be available on NORA’s Patient Caregivers Resource
page and CLF’s Post-Concussion Syndrome (PCS) Resources
page. “Some concussion symptoms may only last a short period of time, while others can linger for months or even years, becoming Post-Concussion Syndrome and adversely affecting the way a person functions in their activities of daily living,” said co-founder and medical director of CLF, Robert Cantu, MD.
By Staff
Tuesday, November 6, 2018 12:24 AM
CHICAGO—
Prevent Blindness, the nation’s oldest volunteer eye health and safety organization, has announced that Paul Delatore, global head, market access at
Alcon, Jim McGrann, chairman and chief executive officer of
Healthy Eyes Advantage, and Rajeev S. Ramchandran, MD, associate professor of Ophthalmology in the
University of Rochester Medical School’s Department of Ophthalmology, have been elected to the organization’s board of directors. The vote was held Nov. 2 at the 2018 Prevent Blindness annual board meeting in Chicago.
By Staff
Tuesday, November 6, 2018 12:18 AM
NEW YORK—
CB Insights, a New York-based market research firm, has released a new report, Disrupting Eye Healthcare. Geared for investors in health care technology, the report examines how emerging companies are offering new, and often less invasive treatments, for common eye diseases like glaucoma, as well as reimagining existing technologies as simple as eye drops. “CB Insights uses software and research to provide health care clients with evidence-based insights into industry trends,” said Marc Albanese, CB Insights director of health care research and former chief operating officer vision care startup
Smart Vision Labs.