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Altair Eyewear and Draper James Sign Exclusive Global Licensing Agreement

Altair Eyewear Inc., a division of Marchon Eyewear Inc., and Draper James, the Southern-inspired lifestyle brand founded by Reese Witherspoon, announced that they have entered into an exclusive global licensing agreement for the design, manufacturing and distribution of Draper James optical eyewear.

The brand’s first ever optical collection will be available beginning March 2019 and will debut at Vision Expo East in New York City. The Draper James optical styles will take cues from Draper James’ vibrant, upbeat ready-to-wear and accessories collections, celebrating femininity with a contemporary take on Southern charm.

“I am thrilled that Draper James is partnering with Altair Eyewear Inc., a leading expert in optical eyewear, to create a new line of glasses,” said Reese Witherspoon, Draper James Founder and Creative Director. “As a lifestyle brand, I feel it’s important to continue to add new categories that meet the everyday needs of our customers both in style and function.”

“We are excited to embark on this venture with Draper James, a unique brand with a fresh point of view,” said Nicola Zotta, President & CEO of Marchon Eyewear, Inc. “We look forward to partnering with Draper James and Reese Witherspoon on expressive optical eyewear collections that complement the brand’s lifestyle and extend the current assortment into an exciting new category and market.”

The new Draper James optical eyewear line is planned to be distributed globally and sold in optical chains and specialty retailers as well as through independent eye care practices.

Click HERE for the full press release.

First Annual Canadian Dry Eye Summit

The first annual Canadian Dry Eye Summit (CDES) was held on May 25 -26th, 2018 at the Hotel Novotel in Mississauga, Ontario. The sold out event brought together over 160 attendees, faculty and industry for two days to learn, share and experience all that is new in the dry eye space. The CDES was born with a singular mission: To ensure patients across Canada receive outstanding, compassionate care for their ocular surface based on the evidence of the day. This two day session certainly went a long way towards that mission.

Chief Learning officer, Dr. Richard Maharaj brought together over 14 experts from across North America to share their knowledge and experience in the dry eye space. Over 10 hours of COPE approved CE was provided covering topics such as:

  • The role of inflammation in DED
  • Highlights of TFOS DEWS II
  • Dry Eye as a vision disease
  • Scleral Lenses in the treatment of DED
  • Introducing a dry eye practice into a busy clinic
  • Marketing your medical niche

A unique feature of this years summit were the hands on workshops where folks could try out technologies such as Lipiflow, IPL, Blephex, Tear Osmolarity and many more.

Myopia Awareness Week to Go Global

The World Council of Optometry and the Brien Holden Vision Institute (BHVI)  have formed a partnership to bring Myopia Awareness Week, previously limited to Australia, to a global audience.

The aims for Myopia Awareness Week are to raise awareness in the community about myopia, highlight the critical role optometrists play in treating myopia, and to encourage optometrists to stay current with emerging trends in myopia control and management.

World Council of Optometry President Scott Mundle, OD, spoke to Optik about the partnership: “Myopia correction and prevention is an optometry issue and WCO should take the lead globally. Working with the BHVI makes sense since we already are working on a number of projects, including Our Children’s Vision, Adopt a School, School Eye Health to name a few.”

Kovin Naidoo, CEO of the Brien Holden Vision Institute, said, “We are thrilled to join with the World Council of Optometry on this much larger campaign to raise awareness on a global scale. The partnership will garner the support of industry and other key players to make sure the message of the looming public health crisis and the need for action, reaches large sectors of the general population as well as practitioners.”

Myopia Awareness Week 2018 in Australia was the 14th to the 18th of May. The designated date for 2019’s Myopia Awareness Week has not yet been set.

Genetic Factors for Myopia Identified

A genetic study from the Mainz University Medical Center has identified 161 genetic factors for myopia.

Published in Nature Genetics by the Consortium for Refractive Error and Myopia (CREAM), this is the largest genetic study of myopia to date.

Working with the gene test provider 23andme, researchers evaluated the data from 250,000 individuals from Europe, Asia and North America.

Most of the 161 factors the study identified were previously unknown. One discovery was that all retinal cell types contribute to the development of myopia. The paper sheds light on the relationship between environmental and genetic factors: “Our results support the notion that refractive errors are caused by a light-dependent retina-to-sclera signaling cascade.”

The study gave researchers some insights into the underlying biological mechanisms that lead to myopia, and support the case that education-related behaviour is a major environmental cause. Myopia has spread into a worldwide epidemic as education levels all over the world are rising and people perform more close-up tasks in poor levels of daylight.

“Send your kids to play outside for two hours every day,” says Professor Norbert Pfeiffer, Head of the Department of Ophthalmology at the Mainz University Medical Center. “And it’s not just their eyes that will benefit.”

More information: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-018-0127-7

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