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Johnson & Johnson Vision focused on lifetime of eye care
Thomas G. Frinzi explains some of the company’s next steps.
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During the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons meeting in Lisbon, Portugal, Ocular Surgery News spoke with Thomas G. Frinzi, worldwide president, surgical, at Johnson & Johnson Vision, about the recent acquisitions and future prospects of the company.
OSN: How does the TearScience acquisition play into the Johnson & Johnson Vision pipeline?
Frinzi: We are all excited about adding TearScience to the portfolio. With roughly 340 million people suffering from dry eye around the world, dry eye is a growing market opportunity, increasing at a rate of 5% to 6% a year. The beauty of the TearScience technology is that it really gets to the source and function because 60% of dry eye is related to meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD).
We already are a leader in the cataract and refractive market, and reaching out to the ocular surface market is complementary because a healthy ocular surface is critical to the good outcomes of cornea and lens surgery. Another branch of Johnson & Johnson is Vision Care, mainly dealing with contact lenses, and the main cause of contact lens dropout is, again, dry eye. So, TearScience is very complementary to our entire eye health portfolio, and we are very pleased to add it to our armamentarium.
OSN: What is the current Johnson & Johnson Vision pipeline? Will we be seeing new products coming soon?
Frinzi: The pace and cadence of innovation are very important in ophthalmology, and we have a very active internal pipeline across our portfolio. We have our internal projects but are also constantly looking outside for innovation. With J&J as a committed parent, we are focused on bringing innovative products to the market that make a difference in terms of improving surgical outcomes and making our customers more efficient in the operating room or in their practice, all geared toward enhancing the overall patient experience.
OSN: What is the Johnson & Johnson Vision role in co-management of the patient? What does it feel its role is in the U.S. between ODs and MDs when it comes to co-management?
Frinzi: Our strategy is to become a broad-based, global leader in eye health. Bridging optometry and ophthalmology creates many synergies and opportunities. An acquisition such as TearScience, for instance, lends itself to synergistic interaction because patients can present at either end of the eye practice and the technology can be used either to keep them using contact lenses longer by treating their MGD or to ensure they get the best possible outcome related to premium cataract surgery. It is great to have the ability to serve patients along that continuum of care.
OSN: Can you provide an update on Symfony and how the real-world results are in addition to the U.S. results? How does Symfony compare with other extended depth of focus lenses that are coming to market?
Frinzi: Johnson & Johnson acquired the former AMO business in February this year. We announced the transaction last summer, and it took about 6 months to get through all the approval processes around the world until we closed the deal. We are integrating, and integration is going very well. We are right on schedule of where we need to be. One of the advantages of having a parent like J&J committed to overall eye health is the fact that within 6 months of acquiring AMO, we were able to turn around and acquire TearScience. Clearly, J&J is focused on building the broadest portfolio to handle a lifetime of vision needs for patients.
Symfony is doing very well. It was the first EDOF IOL approved in the U.S., and with this acquisition we ensured ourselves a leadership position in EDOF. Outcomes continue to be very strong with the lens, and we are already working on next-generation Symfony designs to continue to raise the bar and continue to provide ophthalmologists and their patients with not only quantity but also quality of vision improvement. Other EDOF lenses have come into the market, but competition is healthy.
OSN: With these acquisitions and the projects you have been talking about, Johnson & Johnson is showing increasing interest in the surgical ophthalmic business. Is this an entirely new course?
Frinzi: Not necessarily a new course. Johnson & Johnson was once in the surgical ophthalmic space when it acquired IOLAB back in the early 1980s, which is where I started my ophthalmic career as a sales rep there in 1984. The corporation eventually sold that business to Chiron Vision in 1995. So, 22 years later, J&J is back in surgical ophthalmology, and on a personal level, it feels good coming home, having my career come full circle as well. – by Michela Cimberle
For more information:
Thomas G. Frinzi, can be reached at email: tfrinzi@its.jnj.com.
Disclosure: Frinzi reports he is worldwide president, surgical, at Johnson & Johnson Vision.