EyeWorld is the official news magazine of the American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.
Issue link: https://digital.eyeworld.org/i/99908
December 2012 consumers can make more informed decisions. When it comes to being knowledgeable and connected, consumers are not the only ones to consider. Physicians are involved as well. Jeff Tangney, CEO, Doximity, San Mateo, Calif., said his company is primarily concerned with connecting physicians. ���Our goal is to connect physicians to make them more successful,��� Mr. Tangney said. Doximity, a LinkedIn type website specifically for physicians, is the largest and fastest growing network for physicians online, Mr. Tangney said. It has facilitated 2.5 million connections between its physicians. Currently, the site includes over 16% of U.S. physicians and about 15% of ophthalmologists in the U.S. Other companies are also taking steps to innovate with different techniques for connections between doctors, doctor and patient relationships, and easing the way consumers can navigate their medical needs. ZocDoc, DigiSight, and Assort are among those companies pushing new innovations. Need for breakthroughs in medical innovation The recipient of this year���s OIS Award was Scott M. Whitcup, M.D., who discussed the hurdles with innovation, including rising development costs and regulatory hurdles. Dr. Whitcup is executive vice president, head of R&D, and chief scientific officer, Allergan, Irvine, Calif. ���Not only do we need to innovate in medicine, but we now have to be better than existing therapies, which have gone generic,��� he said. He stressed the importance of new drugs not only being safe and effective, but cost effective as well. ���There���s still a lot of unmet medical need in ophthalmology,��� Dr. Whitcup said. But he said inno- vations in this field can go beyond a focus on just ophthalmology. Kevin Buehler���s plenary keynote lecture echoed similar sentiments about the regulatory hurdles that are getting harder to navigate. Mr. Buehler, division head, Alcon, Fort Worth, Texas, said that with the changing world, operating the same way going forward will not be an effective plan. ���When we think about innovation, we can���t think of it simply in the context of new problems,��� Mr. Buehler said. ���We need to think about it in the environment that we are working in.��� There are two types of innovation, Mr. Buehler said. The first is the one that everyone knows, which is breakthrough innovation, he said, which can often be difficult and involve high risk and represents a ���standard of care change.��� However, incremental is another type of innovation that can provide ���changes that offer value.��� Both of these types of innovation can be valuable, Mr. Buehler said. Need for drug delivery systems evident With follow-up care expensive and patient compliance low, drug delivery systems will be necessary to effectively treat patients, according to three speakers on a drug delivery technologies panel. ���The numbers that we saw someone present [today]���that only 50-60% of patients are compliant, even in something as traumatic and life threatening as cancer���show that delivery is important and sustained delivery is important,��� said Susan Washer, president and CEO, Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation, Alachua, Fla. ���We have many options to look at, and we should all be investigating those options.��� She said drug delivery systems are best on an individual patient basis to serve each patient���s needs. Funding is a key issue, she and Signe Erickson, vice president, Development and Clinical Application, Forsight Vision4, Menlo Park, Calif./Boston, said. Ms. Erickson said payers and physicians want ways to remove the financial burden of noncompliance. She said there is an ���evident need��� for new sustained dosing methods. Ted Danse, president and CEO, NeuroTech, Cumberland, R.I., said competition is key. ���I think those parties that want to be able to compete are going to [need] long-term delivery,��� he said. EW MEETING REPORTER 49 FDA of���cial: Communication vital The new U.S. Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act includes medical device amendments that will impact ophthalmic device approval, making communication between industry and the FDA vital, an official said at OIS. ���The [FDA���s Safety and Innovation Act] FDASIA is going to have a tremendous impact and already has had in the Center for Devices and Radiological Health where devices are regulated, specifically in the infrastructure improvements. It allows us funding for increased staffing and reduction of reviewerto-manager ratio,��� said Malvina B. Eydelman, M.D., director, Division of Ophthalmic and Ear, Nose and Throat Devices, and Division of Now available online EyeWorld Video Reporter from 2012 AAO/APAO Chicago Watch industry experts share clinical pearls from their talks during the Ophthalmology Innovation Summit, EyeWorld symposia, as well as during the joint AAO/APAO meeting. There are more than 35 videos organized by day in EyeWorld���s easy-to-view browser. Eric D. Donnenfeld, M.D., Bonnie An Henderson, M.D., Thomas W. Samuelson, M.D., Donald Tan, M.D., and many others discuss topics from DALK to cataract and cornea to glaucoma in these short, informational clips. Easy to use, no login required. It will be worth your time! iPad, mobile device, or desktop www.EWrePlay.org/AAO2012