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EW ASCRS•ASOA 2015 54 T his year, the OIS@ASCRS will return for what will be a full day of programming focusing on a number of ophthalmic companies and key topics in the field. OIS orga- nizers Emmett T. Cunningham Jr., MD, PhD, MPH, San Francisco; William J. Link, PhD, San Fran- cisco; and Gilbert Kliman, MD, Menlo Park, Calif., are gearing up for another year at the ASCRS•ASOA Symposium & Congress. Dr. Cunningham said they are expecting approximately 500 attendees at OIS in San Diego. "The first two OIS@ASCRS meetings had between 450 and 500 people," he said. "We expect at least that many this year and maybe more." by Ellen Stodola EyeWorld Staff Writer ASCRS•ASOA Preview • April 17–21, 2015 OIS returns prior to ASCRS•ASOA Symposium & Congress (OIS@ASCRS) March 2015 He said the attraction to the meeting is the same as it has always been, adding, "It's a unique gather- ing of investors, private companies, public companies, and thought leaders." The format for this year's meet- ing will be similar to past meetings, but the programming will be slightly extended from what usually takes place at the ASCRS•ASOA Sym- posium & Congress. OIS holds a full-day meeting each year prior to the American Academy of Oph- thalmology annual meeting (OIS@ AAO), but when it launched at the ASCRS•ASOA Symposium & Con- gress in 2012, it was only a half day of programming. It expanded to slightly more than a half day, and this year, Dr. Cunningham said it will be a fairly full day of panels and information. The program will start with a VIP breakfast for speakers and spon- sors. To kick off the open sessions, Dr. Link will give a welcome and overview statement. The morning sessions will feature an ophthalmic company showcase, which will like- ly include both public and private companies in the sphere. This year's OIS keynote speak- er will be J. Michael Pearson, the chairman and CEO of Valeant Pharmaceuticals (Laval, Quebec). Dr. Cunningham said there will be a panel toward the end of the day featuring CEOs from a number of large, publically traded ophthalmic companies. "Two things we want to try to highlight in this meeting are ther- apeutic approaches to presbyopia and intraocular pressure reduction," Dr. Cunningham said. Drug delivery will also be in the spotlight. The 2015 OIS@ASCRS will take place on Thursday, April 16 at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront. EW Contact information Cunningham: ECunningham@clarusventures.com therapy," Dr. Rhee said. "That's important because 50% of all people with an elevated intraocular pres- sure—whether they have glaucoma or not—require 2 or more drugs to attain even a modest pressure reduc- tion of 20%. So it's important to talk about what to do next." The session will feature a talk on glaucoma medications in the pipeline—specifically rho kinase inhibitors and where they are in the clinical trial process. The session will also focus on laser treatment for end-stage glaucoma, especially endoscopic cyclophotocoagulation (ECP). "The comprehensive ophthal- mologist is not going to necessarily be taking care of end-stage glauco- ma, but I think it's important for people to know what the options are," Dr. Rhee said. Afternoon sessions The first afternoon talk will be the 2015 Stephen A. Obstbaum, MD, Honored Lecture. Barbara A. Smit, MD, PhD, Spokane, Wash., will present "Schlemm's Canal Surgery: by Lauren Lipuma EyeWorld Staff Writer will highlight "Surgical Management of Primary and Secondary Pigment Dispersion Glaucoma." "We don't want to lose sight of the fact that there are other subtypes of glaucoma," Dr. Rhee said. "So we'll be talking about the role of dif- ferent surgical devices and some of the issues that can happen following cataract surgery." Clement C.Y. Tham, BMBCh, FRCS, Hong Kong, will present the ASCRS Glaucoma Day Honored Lecture titled "Lens Extraction in Primary Angle Closure Glaucoma." Dr. Tham's talk will focus on the concept of cataract surgery as a glaucoma procedure, a topic that is both important and relevant, Dr. Rhee said, because of the convergent evolution of cataract surgery and MIGS procedures. The final morning session will be "Practical Focus on Medications and Lasers: News You Can Use Next Week in the Office." This case-based symposium will give attendees pearls for medical and laser glauco- ma treatments as well as an over- view of what's new in the pipeline. "On the medication side, we're looking at adjunctive and additive "The strength of ASCRS Glau- coma Day has always been its focus on practical and surgical," Dr. Rhee said. "We pride ourselves on giving you knowledge that you can turn around and use [right away]." Morning sessions The day will open with an official welcome from Dr. Rhee, followed by "Taking a Byte Out of Glauco- ma: Technological Advances." This session will explore what's new in glaucoma imaging, structural and functional imaging, and informatics. This will be a relevant and timely topic, Dr. Rhee said, because the vast majority of practices are now func- tioning electronically. A joint ASCRS and American Glaucoma Society (AGS) symposium Subspecialty day will give attendees practical information that they can use in the clinic today T he main focus of the 2015 ASCRS Glaucoma Day is to give both comprehen- sive ophthalmologists and glaucoma specialists practical, useful information that they can bring back to their patients immediately after the meeting has finished, said Douglas J. Rhee, MD, Cleveland, chair of the Glaucoma Day Program Committee. The 1-day meeting will take place on Friday, April 17, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Glaucoma Day to focus on current, new technology continued on page 56

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