Cornell Capital LLC, a private equity firm based in New York and Hong Kong, announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Advancing Eyecare, a leading, North America-based provider of ophthalmic instruments to independent eyecare practitioners, national chains, hospitals, teaching institutions and others, from Atlantic Street Capital.

Advancing Eyecare is headquartered in Jacksonville, FL, and comprised of market-leading brands in eyecare instrumentation, including Lobart Instrument, Marco Ophthalmic, Innova Medical, and S4Optik.

 Atlantic Street Capital, formed Advancing Eyecare Holdings with the partnership of its portfolio companies Lombart Instrument (Lombart), and Marco Ophthalmic Inc (Marco) in 2019. At the time of formation, INNOVA had already been part of the Advancing Eyecare group.

INNOVA Medical Ophthalmics has been supplying the Canadian ophthalmic community with a comprehensive line of diagnostic instruments, supplies, and support through factory-trained technicians and customer service representatives for over 30 years. They have facilities in Toronto and the Montreal area.

INNOVA represents several well-known brands in the Canadian equipment and diagnostic equipment markets, including Nidek, REICHERT, HAAG-STREIT and others.

In a statement issued today, Cornell Capital said it has “extensive experience partnering with strong management teams to drive growth, scale infrastructure and capitalize on opportunities across new markets. The firm said it intends to work closely with Advancing Eyecare’s current management team, led by chief executive officer Brad Staley, chief financial officer David Clay and chief strategy officer David Spear, to execute on “a shared vision and build on the significant momentum and investments the company has made in fostering a culture of authenticity, accountability, transparency and winning.”

Commenting on the acquisition, Stephen Trevor, partner at Cornell Capital, remarked, “AEC’s broad portfolio of innovative products and world class service and tech support have positioned the company as a leader in the attractive multibillion dollar ophthalmic products and services market. As the demand for eyecare continues to drive market growth and the industry continues to transition toward more advanced technologies and digital capabilities, AEC is uniquely well suited to meet comprehensive customer needs as an end-to-end service provider.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

OptikConEd and The Practical Professor (Tom Weissberger RO) are pleased to announce the “Learn to Give Back” program in collaboration with TWECS, (Third World Eye Care Society), a 100% volunteer registered Canadian charity. TWECS is also a chapter of VOSH International (Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity), a non-profit international organization, founded in 1971.

TWECS’ mission is to collect old unused eyeglasses and distribute these eyeglasses in conjunction with eye exams given by properly trained individuals. The distribution of eyeglasses is made in developing countries where, because of poverty or lack of availability of eye care services, individuals are unable to obtain eyeglasses and primary eye care.  

TWECS is an International Charity registered in Ottawa and founded by Dr. Marina Roma-March and Derrick March 27 years ago. They first served the poor living in the garbage dumps of Manila Philippines in 1995 shortly after finishing their university education.

Through the passage of many hands in eye clinics, optical stores, churches, and service clubs like the Lions Clubs, Rotary Clubs and the Knights of Columbus, donated eyeglasses reach the TWECS warehouse. The TWECS eyeglass warehouse, the base for its preparation of the 10,000 eyeglasses they bring on a project is generously provided by the Burnaby Lougheed Lions Club. TWECS volunteers meet every Monday evenings at the eyeglass warehouse to clean, measure and sort  through over 250,000 donated eyeglasses.

TWECS has been supported over the years by the Canadian Association of Optometrists, Volunteer Optometric Services for Humanity, 10 Provincial Canadian Optometric Associations, Rotary International, Lions Clubs International, The Knights of Columbus , and the Fred Hollows Foundation.   All the members of the society are unpaid volunteers most of whom are professionals from across Canada.

TWECS teams pay their own expenses to travel to developing countries and provide thorough eye exams and the highest quality recycled refurbished prescription eyeglasses to the poor.

Through the passage of many hands in eye clinics, optical stores, churches, and service clubs like the Lions Clubs, Rotary Clubs and the Knights of Columbus, donated eyeglasses reach the TWECS warehouse.

The “Learn to Give Back” program will donate 10% of all revenue sales of Optical courses authored by Tom Weissberger, The Practical Professor that are made available through the OptikConEd accredited continuing education platform (www.OptikConEd.com). 

The program begins immediately and will contribute to the planned mission in Jaipur, India in 2023.  Optik will also help bring awareness to TWECS through its various media platforms. 

You can view the available courses at the OptikConEd Platform.

About TWECS (Third World Eye Care Society) (www.TWECS.ca)
TWECS mission is simply to provide free eye care and the highest quality eyeglasses to the poorest of the poor in developing countries.  Since 1995 TWECS teams of eye doctors, opticians and volunteers have provided free eye care and free eyeglasses to over 101,000 underprivileged people in 16 countries around the world.  They have set up eye clinics in Mexico, Guatemala, India, Grenada, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines, Nepal, and in the African countries of Kenya, Malawi, Ethiopia and Tanzania. TWECS is a member of the World Health Organization’s Emergency Medical Teams, responding to natural disasters.

About The Practical Professor
Tom Weissberger is a 2^nd generation options who has made all aspects of opticianry his life’s work. Tom brings over 10 years of teaching experience as a former professor at Canada’s leading Opticianry colleges.

About OptikConEd.com (www.OptikConEd.com) OptikConEd.com is an online education portal providing accredited continuing education (CE) courses for opticians and paraoptometric professionals. The platform supports delivery of CE courses in multiple media formats, access to a post-course quiz and generates a certificate for your accrediting regulator. Courses are accredited by NACOR, the College of Ontario Opticians and Ordre des opticiens d’ordonnances du Québec.  

Click HERE for the press release.

As two family companies with a passion for eye care, Laboratoires Théa and Labtician Ophthalmics recognized an opportunity to work together to bring innovative new products to Canadian patients. In 2018, this shared vision resulted in the formation of Labtician Théa, an ambitious Joint Venture with a 5-year term.

By focusing on supporting Canadian Eye Care professionals provide optimal care to their patients, the Labtician Théa Joint Venture has achieved its goals of creating a strong presence in the Canadian marketplace and offering Canadian Eye Care Professionals the most comprehensive suite of products and services available in the industry.

With the successful completion of the agreed-upon 5-year term, as of January 1, 2023, the Joint Venture will terminate, resulting in a stronger Labtician Ophthalmics with a new Therapeutics Division to complement its existing Surgical Division, and the launch of Théa Pharma Canada Inc., an affiliate of Laboratoires Théa, based in the Greater Toronto Area. As two separate entities, Labtician Ophthalmics and Théa Pharma Canada will be better positioned to service and support the Canadian Eye Care community for many years to come.

“Our partnership with Labtician Ophthalmics has allowed us to get to know the Canadian Eye Care professionals and understand their needs and that of their patients. It was a great way to introduce them to Théa and bring innovative best-in-class products to market that are supported by strong clinical evidence,” says Fiona McCloskey, Managing Director of Labtician Théa and Théa Pharma Canada. “With the launch of Théa Pharma Canada in 2023, our goal is to continue to provide ECPs and patients with new innovative treatments and solutions for a wide range of ocular diseases including Dry Eye, Glaucoma, Allergy and more over the years to come. We are thankful for our partnership with Labtician Ophthalmics and excited for this exciting new chapter in our journey as Théa Pharma Canada.”

This unique Joint Venture has also been a success for the team at Labtician Ophthalmics.

“Working with the world-class team and products at Théa allowed us to demonstrate our unique ability to platform other companies in the Canadian marketplace and showcase our skill of developing unprecedented business models and executing against them,” says Polydor Strouthos, President of Labtician Ophthalmics. “We built on our expertise in regulatory, cross-functional marketing, and customer expansion, and increased our capacity to launch products and entities. We bring innovation to practice and will provide our valued customers with more best-in-class products, services, and innovative solutions due to a stronger Labtician Ophthalmics with a new Therapeutics Division to complement our existing Surgical Division.

When mutually beneficial opportunities arise, Théa Pharma Canada Inc. and Labtician Ophthalmics Inc. will leverage their strong relationship and shared family values as Partners of Choice.

Click HERE for the full press release.

CooperVision revealed findings from multiple studies that advance scientific understanding of contact lens comfort factors during the 2022 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) meeting. The annual event ran from May 1-4 in Denver.

Comfort remains the key factor in maintaining contact lens satisfaction among patients. While numerous product developments have significantly improved the wearing experience over the last few decades, comfort considerations and improvement continue to be of substantial interest to eye care professionals and consumers.

Two of the works focus on helping protect the ocular surface from hyperosmolarity of the tear film, which has particular relevance for contact lens wearers who are symptomatic, especially those with dryness. Conducted with the Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry & Vision Science at the University of California, Berkeley, the research team designed and employed a novel model to quantify a non-measurable yet critical factor: tear film osmolarity behind a contact lens.

“We concluded that contact lens materials with low salt diffusivity are better at protecting the cornea from hyperosmolarity and that osmolarity behind a contact lens reaches a steady state within the first hour. Our findings also illustrate that midday lens removal and reinsertion alone cannot prevent post-lens tear film hyperosmolarity,” said Cheng-Chun Peng, a Senior Scientist at CooperVision who co-authored the ARVO-delivered paper and poster.

“If tear film break-up on the cornea is believed to cause discomfort, contact lenses could theoretically help protect the ocular surface from osmolarity spikes. While pre-lens tear film hyperosmolarity is primarily due to evaporation, little is known about salt accumulation within and behind a contact lens. A better understanding of this factor could lead to substantial gains in future lens innovations and patient care.”

Additional CooperVision comfort science being presented at ARVO 2022 includes research regarding corneal sensitivity changes in symptomatic neophyte contact lens wearers, an evaluation of discomfort-associated conjunctival epithelial cell gene expression, and preliminary results from the Neurosensory Abnormalities in Ocular Surface Disease study. Those projects were conducted in conjunction with Indiana University, Universidad de Valladolid, and Tufts Medical Center, respectively.

CooperVision’s additional ARVO 2022 research presentations, including advancements in myopia management and other contact lens topics, can be viewed at arvo.org/annual-meeting/. 

Click HERE for the full press release.

FYidoctors was recognized for overall business performance and sustained growth with the prestigious Canada’s Best Managed Companies designation. The 2022 Best Managed program award winners are amongst the best-in-class of Canadian-owned and managed companies with revenues over $50 million demonstrating leadership in the areas of strategy, capabilities and innovation, culture and commitment, and financials to achieve sustainable growth.

Now in its 29th year, Canada’s Best Managed Companies remains one of the country’s leading business awards programs recognizing Canadian-owned and managed companies for innovative, world‑class business practices.

With over 600 doctors and over 300 clinics, FYidoctors serves Canadians from coast to coast. Faced, like all businesses, with undeniable COVID-19 challenges, the company took aggressive steps to innovate and reimagine its business model. The company developed new ways to care for its patients and colleagues, focusing on maintaining financial strength, delivering operational excellence. It prioritized the health and well-being of its team, patients and communities.

“This year’s Best Managed winners displayed courage, resourcefulness, and creativity as they explored new avenues for advancement,” said Lorrie King, Partner, Deloitte Private and Co‑Leader, Canada’s Best Managed Companies program. “We’re extremely proud to recognize their impressive achievements in such a rapidly changing business world. Their successes demonstrate the importance of strong leadership and forethought in driving long-term growth.”

Applicants are evaluated by an independent judging panel comprised of representatives from program sponsors in addition to special guest judges. 2022 Best Managed companies share commonalities that include (but are not limited to) putting their people and culture at the forefront, focusing on their ESG strategies, and doubling down on accelerated digitization.

“We are beyond excited to be named Best Managed Companies for the third year in a row,” said Dr. Alan Ulsifer, Chair and CEO of FYidoctors. The achievement of this milestone shows the commitment of our team to excellence, innovation, and teamwork.’’

Click HERE for the full press release.