The Independent Director Committee (the Committee) of Alcon, Inc. announced that it formally responded to the January 4 proposal from Novartis AG (Novartis) to attempt to acquire the minority publicly traded shares of Alcon pursuant to a compulsory merger under Swiss law. In its letter to Dr. Daniel Vasella, Chairman and CEO of Novartis and an Alcon Board member, the Committee stated that based on, among other things, advice from its independent financial advisor, it had determined that the price and other terms proposed by Novartis are grossly inadequate and that the financial analysis upon which Novartis' unilateral proposal is based is fundamentally flawed.
      The Committee reports that it reached this decision after a careful review of the terms and financial aspects of Novartis' proposal and analysis of information provided by Alcon and its senior management team about the company's past and anticipated financial performance, growth prospects and merger synergy opportunities. The Committee worked closely with its independent financial and legal advisors, Greenhill & Co., Sullivan & Cromwell LLP and Pestalozzi, Zurich, in undertaking its analysis.
     The Committee has posted additional information including answers to frequently asked questions, a summary of its financial analysis, and links to the Swiss Code of Obligations, the Swiss Merger Act and the Alcon Organizational Regulations on their Web site: www.transactioninfo.com/alcon.

CooperVision announced that Richard Clompus, OD, FAAO, has joined the company as Vice President, Global Professional Relations within the Global Commercial Strategy team. Dr. Clompus will support clinical studies, education, and professional affairs on a worldwide basis in order to further establish CooperVision's position in the global contact lens industry.
     "Richard brings a wealth of experience and technical expertise to this role," said Jeffrey A. McLean, Executive Vice President, Global Commercial Strategy, CooperVision. "We look forward to his contribution as we continue to develop our professional relations strategy, clinical programs, and enhance the overall experience of our customers."
     Dr. Clompus most recently served as Director of The Vision Care Institute, LLC, supporting student and doctor education in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Prior to that, he was part of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care where he held leadership positions within The Spectacle Lens Group and Vistakon. He is a member of the American Optometric Association, charter member of the AOA Contact Lens Section, and Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry.
     Dr. Clompus was also in private practice for 20 years, establishing an innovative optometric practice in West Chester, PA, providing multidisciplinary eye care and contact lens specialty services. He has published many journal articles and is a contributing author to several publications. Dr. Clompus graduated from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry and completed a family practice residency at the University of Alabama School of Optometry in Birmingham.

Inspire Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that its Phase 3 clinical trial (Trial 03-113) of Prolacria (diquafosol tetrasodium ophthalmic solution) 2% for the treatment of dry eye disease did not meet its primary endpoint (p = 0.526) or its secondary endpoint (p = 0.368).
     "We have provided the top-line results from this trial to our partner Allergan and we will be conducting a thorough review of the program before determining next steps, if any," stated Christy L. Shaffer, Ph.D., President and CEO of Inspire.
     Trial 03-113 was a six-week, randomized, placebo-controlled trial in 490 patients who had a fluorescein staining score of three in the central region of the cornea at baseline, using the National Eye Institute scale of zero to three. The primary endpoint was the proportion of subjects receiving Prolacria, administered four times daily as eye drops, that achieved clearing, or a staining score of zero, in the central region of the cornea in the study eye at the six-week trial endpoint, compared to those receiving placebo. The secondary endpoint was the proportion of patients receiving Prolacria that achieved greater than or equal to a two-unit reduction in staining scores at the six-week trial endpoint, compared to those receiving placebo.

Patients wearing contact lenses for astigmatism feel the lens sometimes rotates on the eye, resulting in blurry vision. The Accelerated Stabilization Design (ASD) of ACUVUE® OASYS™ Brand Contact Lenses for ASTIGMATISM provides greater stability by harnessing the pressure of the blink. ASD has four zones of stability to help maintain the position of the lens, resulting in more consistent visual acuity during repetitive eye movements and throughout everyday activities. So with ACUVUE® OASYS™ Brand for ASTIGMATISM, you provide your astigmatic patients with stable, crisp vision throughout their day.
For more information, click here.

ACUVUE® Brand Contact Lenses are indicated for vision correction. As with any contact lens, eye problems, including corneal ulcers, can develop. Some wearers may experience mild irritation, itching or discomfort. Lenses should not be prescribed if patients have any eye infection, or experience eye discomfort, excessive tearing, vision changes, redness or other eye problems. Consult the package insert for complete information. Complete information is also available from VISTAKON®, Division of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc., by calling 1-800-843-2020 or by visiting jnjvisioncare.com.
     ACUVUE®, ACUVUE® OASYS™, and VISTAKON® are trademarks of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc.
© Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. 2009.

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Alcon announced that it will purchase the rights in the United States for two FDA-approved topical eye care products from Sirion Therapeutics, Inc. The two products purchased are Durezol, a marketed ophthalmic corticosteroid approved for the treatment of inflammation and pain associated with eye surgery, and Zirgan, a recently approved antiviral for the treatment of acute herpetic keratitis (corneal ulcers).
      In addition to these marketed products, Alcon also acquired the global rights, excluding Latin America, for Zyclorin. This product is currently in clinical development to treat dry eye and other ocular surface diseases.
     The closing of this agreement is expected to occur by the end of the first quarter of 2010 and is contingent upon customary closing conditions and required regulatory approvals. 

Menicon Co., Ltd. announced the appointment of Graham Lockie as Global Sales Manager for Disposable Lens Products. Lockie will report to Jonathan Jacobson, Menicon's General Manager, Global Strategies and Operations.
     Lockie joins Menicon with nearly 20 years' experience in the soft contact lens and lens care business, having worked in a variety of positions with several leading companies, including Allergan (now AMO) and the Eyecare Division of Biocompatibles Ltd.
     Following the acquisition of Biocompatibles Eyecare by CooperVision, Lockie joined Clearlab, the Singapore-based soft contact lens manufacturer, as Global Commercial Director. Clearlab's Research and Development was acquired by Menicon in 2007 at which time Lockie left to launch his own company, acting as a commercial consultant for several optical businesses.
     Mr. Toshio Matsushima, Senior Executive Officer for Menicon, commented, "We are pleased to welcome Graham to Menicon. His knowledge and experience will be invaluable in expanding our soft contact lens business in the global markets." 

Global Specialty Lens Symposium, January 28-31, 2010, Bally's Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas 
There is still time to register for the Global Specialty Lens Symposium. With an expert international faculty and a CE-accredited agenda, the 2010 GSLS will include insightful presentations by experts in the field, hands-on demonstrations of cutting-edge products as well as scientific papers and posters. Look for detailed information and register online at www.GSLSymposium.com.
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Optometrists across the U.S. and Canada and around the world joined their colleagues, patients and staffs, as well as optical companies and optometry students, to help raise funds and awareness for programs that ensure vision care for people in countries without access to even basic eye care services. Globally, they contributed nearly $500,000 through the World Sight Day Challenge in October.
     World Sight Day is an initiative of VISION 2020: The Right to Sight and is supported by the World Health Organization (WHO); the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness and non-government organizations with the shared goal of eliminating avoidable blindness by the year 2020, in order to give all people in the world the right to sight.
     At the end of 2009, Optometry Giving Sight distributed nearly $3 million through its partners to help screen and provide basic eye care services to more than 3.5 million people, train 1,550 mid-level eye care personnel, and create 101 vision centers/optical labs. The funds were to projects in Sri Lanka, Southern Africa, East Timor, Latin America, Indigenous Australia, Papua New Guinea, as well other parts of the world. Learn more about Optometry Giving Sight and read more from World Sight Day Challenge participants at www.givingsight.org. 

Joan Blackwood, a marketing executive who has directed major global and national campaigns from brand positioning and new product launches to creative customer relationship management initiatives, has recently joined 1800CONTACTS as Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer.
     Blackwood was previously Chief Marketing Officer for Monster.com, an online career services company. She led all aspects of Monster's global marketing function including the first global brand launch in the company's history.
     Prior to joining Monster.com, Blackwood directed marketing for Computer Associates, one of the world's largest management software companies, based in New York. She managed all aspects of global branding and marketing communications to customers in more than 140 countries.
     Blackwood served in other senior marketing management roles at FleetBoston Financial (now part of Bank of America), RBC Dain Rauscher and Morgan Stanley Investments. She started her career as a retail marketer in Chicago.

The purpose of this study was to determine if the silicone-type components of new high Dk lens materials contribute significantly to uptake and/or release of two common antimicrobial agents, myristamidopropyl dimethylamine (Aldox) and polyhexamethylene biguanide hydrochloride (PHMB), found in multipurpose solutions.
     Five commercial contact lenses were cycled in lens cases in a PHMB- and an Aldox-containing MPS. Single-cycle soaks (6, 16 or 64h) and multi-cycle soaks (6, 16, 142 and 48h) were used to assess kinetics and saturation effects of uptake. Lens capacity for uptake of each entity was determined using a semi-saturation model. Release kinetics was assessed for these semi-saturated lenses (100-mL MPS-soaked) in 2mL of a tear mimic fluid.
     Lenses that exhibited low uptake in a single cycle (with 3mL of MPS) became saturated within approximately 3 cycles. PHMB uptake was highest with non-silicone hydrogel (non-SiHy) and/or ionic lenses (approximately 70% depletion in 16h). PHMB uptake by non-ionic SiHy lenses was low (<40% depletion in a single 3-mL soak of 64h). Aldox uptake was highest for all SiHy lenses (approximately 80% depletion in 16h).
     The authors concluded that PHMB uptake capacity was highest by ionic and non-SiHy lenses, while Aldox uptake capacity was much higher with all SiHy lenses than with any non-SiHy lens. The slower desorption of PHMB (t(1/2)= approximately 120min) compared to Aldox (t(1/2)= approximately 20min) may partially explain observed higher staining after 2-4h with PHMB products used with some lenses, whereas any clinical effects from Aldox would be expected to manifest soon after insertion.
Powell CH, Lally JM, Hoong LD, Huth SW. Lipophilic versus hydrodynamic modes of uptake and release by contact lenses of active entities used in multipurpose solutions. Cont Lens Anterior Eye 2009.

Occasionally I'll have a patient who reports dryness or scratchiness with their contact lenses toward the end of their wearing cycle (two weeks or one month). Though the patient says they rub their lenses at the end of the day, the observed lenses show a moderate buildup of protein or mucus. 
     The patient may be improperly cleaning their lenses. To demonstrate adequate pressure on the lens, I squirt the normal amount of MPS into the patient's palm and rub the palm myself with the pressure normally used to digitally clean the contact. More often than not, the patient replies that they never rubbed that hard - demonstrating that the patient is not cleaning but merely touching the lens. The patients say they thought they would tear the lens if they rubbed harder. I tell them to rub as hard as I did - follow-ups show improved patient comfort when more pressure is applied.
Mark Greenwell, OD
Papillion, NE

The Global Specialty Lens Symposium, presented by Contact Lens Spectrum, will occur next week from January 28-31, 2010 at Bally's Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The full meeting announcement can be found here: http://www.healthcareconferencegroup.com/conferences.asp?conf=144
     As noted by the agenda, we have an excellent line-up of internationally recognized faculty prepared to discuss all facets of contact lenses. As with last year, it will prove to be amongst the world's premiere meetings on contact lenses.
Jason J. Nichols, OD, MPH, PhD, FAAO 

This month at www.siliconehydrogels.org: a review of the potential uses, efficacy, safety and clinical performance of antimicrobial contact lens technology.