Optician Nicolas Tountas is the new CEO of the Quebec Cooperative Regard Action and its subsidiaries.

 

With more than 15 years of experience in the optical sector, Tountas has worked as entrepreneur and manager in both manufacturing and sales. He has held the position of deputy CEO at Regard Action since 2013.

 

This appointment follows the retirement of Gaston Boucher. Boucher held the position for eight years. He will nonetheless remain closely associated with the Cooperative, acting as strategic consultant for the management team and the various boards of directors at Regard Action. In his new role, he will study innovative opportunities in the optical industry, while taking part in strategic discussions within the group’s entities and acting as a mentor for their managers.

 

In April 2014, optician Jean-Pierre Côté stepped into the role of Chairman of the board. Regard Action had also created a development coordinator position, filled by optician Josée LeBlanc.

 

The Cooperative has 175 optometrist and optician locations.

Source: Regard Action

 

High blood pressure drugs may increase the risk of age-related macular degeneration.

 

Researchers from the University of Wisconsin conducted a long-term study between 1988 and 2013 involving 5,000 residents of Beaver Dam, aged 43 to 86 years. They found that using any vasodilator (such as Apresoline or Loniten) was associated with a 72% greater risk of developing early-stage AMD. An estimated 8.2% of the people who were not taking vasodilators developed AMD symptoms, compared to 19.1% of those who were.

 

A similar increase (+71%) in the risk of neovascular AMD was found in people using oral beta blockers such as Tenormin and Lopressor. An estimated 0.5% of non-users developed this form of the condition, compared to 1.2% of users.

 

While the study provides risk estimates of associations between blood pressure lowering medications and AMD at various stages, it was not able to provide any direct indication of the effects of the medications themselves or the conditions for which participants were taking the medications. “It is important that these results be replicated and tested in a clinical trials setting before changing anyone’s medication regimens,” cautioned lead researcher Dr. Ronald Klein.

Source:

http://www.aao.org/newsroom/release/blood-pressure-drugs-may-be-associated-with-AMD.cfm

 

In a major transaction for the Canadian optical industry, New Look Eyewear has acquired Greiche & Scaff for $17.75 M.

 

The assets and business to be acquired by New Look include 49 corporately owned stores in Quebec, including 42 in the greater Montreal region, as well as an integrated lens processing facility located in Montreal. Founded in 1976, Greiche & Scaff posted revenues of approximately $30.7 million for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2014.

 

New Look entered into various financing arrangements to finance the acquisition, including a $10 million increase of its senior secured debt facility with its bank syndicate and a private placement agreement for the issuance of 500,000 subscription receipts at a price of $20 per receipt with a syndicate of Canadian investment firms led by GMP Securities L.P. Each receipt will allow its owner to acquire a share of New Look on the acquisition closing date, which is expected to be on or around October 1, 2014.   

 

“We will continue to operate the Greiche & Scaff business as a separate banner and store network within the New Look/Vogue Optical umbrella”, stated Martial Gagné, President of New Look. “We very much look forward to working with the Greiche & Scaff employees, associated optometrists and opticians and welcoming them to our group.”  

 

Source : http://www.newlook.ca/data/pdf/press/2014/fr/BCI-communique-presse-5-aout-2014.pdf

 

The famous optics and eyewear trade fair in Paris has made it its mission to increase the trade-related capacity of businesses in the industry via a new layout.

 

Silmo 2014 will be held September 26–29, and organizers have one thing in mind: to generate sales momentum for companies across the optical and eyewear sector and help them meet their buyers. Almost a thousand exhibiting companies will occupy an area of about 80,000 m². To help visitors avoid getting lost, the organizers divided the space based on 11 thematic sectors. At the entrance to Hall 5, the Ab Fab Lab (Absolutely Fabulous Laboratory) brings together some of the latest innovations in the manufacture of lenses and frames.

 

The Frames, Lenses and Contact Lenses sections will draw major companies who specialize in these fields, whereas the Village will continue to be the intersection of trends and designers. The trade show will also have areas dedicated to luxury and sports frames, as well as equipment for opticians, poor vision and point-of-sale equipment.

 

Silmo has also developed a new ad campaign, the graphics of which are reminiscent of the 2013 campaign, that places visitors firmly in the spotlight. It is made up of a series of four portraits of opticians, photographed during last year’s exhibition, who are clearly embracing the “Silmo effect.”

 

Novartis Pharmaceuticals, through its eye care subsidiary, Alcon, recently entered into a licencing agreement with Google to use its smart lens technology for medical purposes.

 

The objective of the agreement is to combine Google’s advances in the miniaturization of electronics with Novartis’ pharmaceuticals and medical device expertise.

 

In a media release, the Swiss group said that this agreement could “transform eye care” and address health issues in a non-traditional way. Novartis is focused on two patient groups: people with diabetes and people with presbyopia.

 

Smart lenses could be used to manage diabetes by providing a continuous measurement of the body’s glucose levels, which would be an ideal replacement for the famous “daily injections.” This could be achieved by measuring the eye’s lachrymal fluid level.

 

Smart lenses could also restore the eye’s natural focus, for example, thus helping people living with presbyopia who can no longer read without glasses.

Source:

http://www.lesechos.fr/industrie-services/pharmacie-sante/0203641609213-lentilles-intelligentes-novartis-passe-un-accord-avec-google-1024775.php