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JJVC executives address AMO acquisition, vision care advocacy
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ATLANTA – “We will continue to capitalize on the strengths of J&J as we partner with AMO,” Peter Menziuso, president, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care North America, said.
Menziuso addressed the company’s recent acquisition of Abbott Medical Optics at a company-sponsored press conference here at SECO.
AMO has been a leader on the surgical side of the business dating back to the 1970s, with their first IOL, he said, and they were first to launch a small incision foldable IOL.
AMO also has a contact lens solutions business, which will merge into Johnson & Johnson Vision Care's (JJVC's) existing contact lens platform, Menziuso said.
J&J is continuing its commitment to launch two new products every year until 2020, he noted, after launching six in 2016.
“Looking at what AMO has been able to accomplish, they’ve had a cycle of innovations, and that platform of success will continue,” he added.
JJVC partners with more than 140 academic institutions globally, he said.
“That enables us to have access to thought-leading technology and incredibly innovative thinkers in the space of clinical science that’s advancing the world in the space of unmet needs in medical technology, and we will have the support of J&J behind us,” Menziuso said.
With the acquisition, JJVC will span 11 manufacturing and research and development sites and will serve 103 countries, he added.
She said last year was “largely about meetings with all of the commissioners with the Federal Trade Commission to put forward the position of the vision care community on issues related to the Fairness to Contact Lens Consumer Act (FCLCA),” she said.
“We developed materials based on the 148-page FTC report and created a synopsis piece that providers and others in the industry could use to be aware of the potential changes,” Alexander continued. “We wanted to do our part to make sure that those who had an opinion had the information and could make a comment before the January deadline for public comment.”
“I’m really proud to share with you that there have been over 2,600 comments to the FTC,” she added.
About 600 comments were submitted during the last open comment period in October 2015, she said.
“We all see a greater interest, which I do not think is by accident. That’s by choosing to be involved, like J&J chooses to be involved and encourages others to participate,” Alexander said.
The company supported the introduction of the Contact Lens Consumer Health Protection Act (CLCHPA) and participated in the Capitol Hill briefing.
JJVC enabled 3,792 vision care advocates to send 6,220 letters to their members of Congress in support of the CLCHPA, she said.
“The issues of health within contact lenses are not about the opportunity for things to go awry with contact lenses, but more importantly, what happens during the course of a contact lens exam that is important for patient health, both ocular and systemic,” Alexander said.
JJVC also helped facilitate the engagement of 93% of Congress through letters, “which is pretty impressive in not even a year’s time,” she added.
Alexander said the JJVC website provides a forum for doctors to create a letter to a member of Congress.
Statewide, the company supported two pro-vision bills in Georgia and South Carolina, which were ultimately enacted, and opposed anti-vision care bills in Oregon, Arizona, Minnesota, New York and Utah.
Proposed legislation in Arizona that attempted to change a contact lens prescription expiration from 1 year to 5 years was defeated, she said. A bill in Utah that would have allowed contact lenses to be prescribed online with a simple questionnaire was also defeated. – by Abigail Sutton
Disclosures: Alexander and Menziuso are employed by Johnson & Johnson Vision Care.