ORLANDO, Fla.—More than 900 industry professionals from 31 countries in North and South America met here last month at the J.W. Marriott Grande Lakes for the 23rd annual Transitions Academy. Transitions Optical executives used the occasion to provide attendees with details on how the brand is innovating, updates on current collaborations with industry partners and the timing of some key upcoming product launches, including the new Acuvue Oasys with Transitions contact lenses.

Jacqueline Henderson, vice president of marketing, Johnson & Johnson Vision, North America, joined Catherine Rauscher, senior global director of business innovation, Transitions Optical, on the stage at the opening session for the announcement of April 1 as the official kickoff for the new Acuvue Oasys contact lenses in the U.S. and Canadian markets.

Acuvue Oasys with Transitions was developed through a strategic partnership between Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. and Transitions Optical, over the course of five years of research that combined the strengths and expertise of each company.

“This product works and patients love it,” Henderson said, as she noted the results and feedback that initial trial wearers expressed to the company. The new lenses were named by Time magazine as one of the best inventions of 2018. Since the announcement of the new lens last April and the prestigious Time award, there have been more than 1 billion media impressions generated for Acuvue Oasys with Transitions, Henderson said.

In addition, Transitions’ Chrystel Barranger, who is president of Essilor Photochromics and Transitions Optical, said during her comments that the Transitions Signature GEN 8 photochromic technology will be rolling out in July. In her overall comments, Barranger, who has been in her current position with Transitions a little over a year, noted that 2018 was a strong year for the brand in North America and Latin America. She added, “2018 was a strong year [and] 2019 is going to be a memorable year.”