Eyeworld

EW FEATURE 34 by Faith A. Hayden EyeWorld Staff Writer Masters of innovation The success stories of two major ophthalmic entrepreneurs O phthalmology, or any medical discipline for that matter, would be nowhere without inno- vators and entrepreneurs discovering and developing novel ways to improve patient care. But constructing a device or a new pro- cedure is often easier said than done. Anyone can have an idea, but it takes a special type of person—and a little bit of luck—to develop that idea into a business, let alone a suc- cessful one. According to the Small Business Association, 50% of small businesses fail in the first 5 years and only a third are left after a decade. It's true that the numbers are bleak, but suc- cess stories do exist, particularly within ophthalmology. Eugene de Juan, M.D., founder and vice-chair- man, ForSight Labs, Menlo Park, Calif., and Ira Yaron, co-founder, Optonol, Neve Ilan, Israel, are two enormously successful entrepreneurs within ophthalmic device develop- ment. EyeWorld spoke with these masters of innovation to unlock the secrets of their success and find out where and how today's inventions are being created. Ira Yaron and Optonol When Mr. Yaron is asked what drives a person to innovation, his answer is simple: "You want to make a change in the world," he said. "You have a technology in your hands and think, how can I make people's lives better with this? How can I contribute to the world with this idea?" The technology Mr. Yaron had was the ability to make miniature devices such as a stent for cardiology with his previous companies. He ap- proached ophthalmologists to see if the stent could have an ophthalmic purpose. "They said you could have a grain-size stent in the eye to direct the aqueous flow from the eye to the subconjunctival space, like in tra- beculectomy," he said. "That was the idea." With that, Optonol and the EX- PRESS mini glaucoma shunt were born. Optonol is a single-device company, meaning it focuses all of its energy into the development of one device. Mr. Yaron considers this an advantage over multi-device companies because everyone in the venture—the engineers, the clini- cians, the research team—is going in the same direction, concentrating on one task. "One of the problems some peo- ple have with innovation is they are not focused," he said. "However, if you have a multi-device company and one device fails, you have an- other to work off of. But if you have multiple devices you risk not focus- ing. Maybe you won't see an issue with one device because the com- pany is not going in one direction." Work on the EX-PRESS began in 1996 and garnered FDA approval in 2002. "There was 5 years between be- lieving we had a product and receiv- ing FDA approval," Mr. Yaron explained. "Having FDA approval doesn't mean you have a success story businesswise. It just means your device is safe and effective. But really there's a ways to go." Ultimately, Optonol and the EX-PRESS were sold to Alcon (Fort Worth, Texas) for a sizeable sum. But the road to success wasn't easy. There was a time during its develop- ment that the project could have been dead in the water. "When we first started to show the EX-PRESS, the implantation pro- cedure wasn't good enough," said Mr. Yaron. "It was not a change in the device itself, it was a change in the procedure, in the way people im- planted the device in the eye." Mr. Yaron acknowledged that the implantation issues were a huge setback for the company, but under- stands that the negative feedback was necessary. "There were many nights I didn't sleep because of this," he said. "The good thing about re- jection is it's a gift that someone is February 2011 Innovation in ophthalmology November 2011 AT A GLANCE • 50% of start-up companies fail in 5 years • If you have an idea, don't sit on it. It's important to discuss it openly with trusted friends • Single-device companies have the advantage of focusing on one product at a time

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