Eyeluminaries

In this special throwback episode, John Hovanesian, MD, and Jim Mazzo revisit their discussions with Steven Schwartz, MD, and Sean Ianculev, MD, about innovations, treatments and entrepreneurship in eye care.

• Welcome to the Eyeluminaries podcast :10
• About Steven Schwartz, MD 2:32
• The interview 3:16
• Discussion of current innovation in cataract surgery including use of AI, imaging and robotics 4:05
• Discussion on Schwartz’s involvement in Neurotech MacTel cell-based treatment 6:32
• Advances and disappointments in retinal disease treatments? 10:32
• How do companies come back from disappointing trial results? 11:07
• Why do retina discoveries take so long to develop? 14:31
• New dry AMD treatments in development? 15:58 
• Drug delivery technologies and will retina specialists use them?
• What do you predict we’ll be doing differently in medicine 2 years from now and why? 22:00
• What’s the difference between a retina and cornea specialist? 23:52
• Introduction of Sean Ianchulev, MD, MPH 25:38
• The interview 26:29
• Impact on Google Glass 30:27
• What innovations are you proud of and what projects are you excited about? 35:31
• What advice do you have for new entrepreneurs? 42:16
• How do you balance your work life and your home life? 45:25
• Legends in the field of ophthalmology 47:39
• Give feedback at [email protected] 49:36
• Thanks for listening 49:57

Sean Ianchulev, MD, MPH, is a Harvard-trained physician-scientist, a professor of ophthalmology and the head of innovation and technology at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary founder and chairman of Iantrek Inc and Eyenovia and serves as a board member for the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery Foundation and AEYE Health.

John A. Hovanesian, MD, FACS, is a faculty member at the UCLA Jules Stein Eye Institute and in private practice at Harvard Eye Associates in Laguna Hills, California.

Jim Mazzo sits on numerous ophthalmic industry corporate boards and committees after serving in executive roles with Allergan, Avellino Labs, Carl Zeiss and AMO.

Steven Schwartz, MD, is the Ahmanson professor in ophthalmology and the chief of the retina division at the UCLA Jules Stein Eye Institute and the director of the Diabetic Eye Disease and Retinal Vascular Center.

We’d love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to [email protected]. Follow John Hovanesian on Twitter @DrHovanesian. You can reach Dr. Schwartz via email at [email protected]. You can find Dr. Ianchulev on LinkedIn. 

Disclosures: Hovanesian consults widely in the ophthalmic field. Mazzo reports being an adviser for Zeiss, Bain Capital, Avellino Labs, CVC Capital, Anivive Lifesciences; executive chairman of Neurotech, Preceyes BV and TearLab; and sits on the board of Crystilex, Lensgen, IanTech, Centricity Vision and Visus. Schwartz is the co-founder of Horizon Surgical; member on the National Eye Institute Audacious Initiative Scientific executive committee and reports receiving grants from Neurotech, Optos/Nikon, the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine; and investigator fees from Neurotech and Optos/Nikon and the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine.

In this episode, John A. Hovanesian, MD, FACS, and Jim Mazzo chat with Cathleen McCabe, MD, about the ASCRS Foundation and role models in ophthalmology; plus, the latest news in eye care.

•    Welcome to the Eyeluminaries podcast :05 •    Review of episode 25 :46 •    Bausch + Lomb acquires Trukera Medical 1:32  •    CMS proposes cutting physician payments for fifth straight year 4:09 •    FDA clears Alcon’s Unity cataract system, Unity vitreoretinal cataract system 7:40 •    FDA approves Eylea biosimilar FYB203/Ahzantive 11:07 •    Intro of Cathleen McCabe, MD 13:07 •    American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) has become an important organization to advocate, educate and organize doctors and their practices. As future president of the organization, what vision do you have for the organization? 15:26 •    In reference to your practice, what challenges are you facing and how do you overcome them? 18:59 •    Besides the two of us, who do you admire in ophthalmology? 23:37 •    Tell us about your work, what you do and how you do it. 27:21 •    Preview of episode 27 33:30 •    Thanks 34:58

John A. Hovanesian, MD, FACS, is a faculty member at the UCLA Jules Stein Eye Institute and in private practice at Harvard Eye Associates in Laguna Hills, California.

Jim Mazzo is an ophthalmic industry veteran with over 40 years as CEO/chairman of both public and private companies, including Allergan, Avellino Labs, Carl Zeiss, Neurotech Pharmaceuticals and AMO. Additionally, he is an advisor for Bain Capital and CVC Capital Partners and sits on numerous industry boards such as MDMA.

Cathleen McCabe, MD, is chief medical officer of Eye Health America and medical director of The Eye Associates in Sarasota, FL.

We’d love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to [email protected]. Follow John Hovanesian on X (formerly Twitter) @DrHovanesian.

Disclosures: Hovanesian consults widely in the ophthalmic field. Mazzo reports being an advisor for Anivive Lifesciences, Avellino Labs, Bain Capital, CVC Capital and Zeiss; executive chairman of Neurotech, Preceyes BV and TearLab; and sits on the board of Crystilex, Centricity Vision, IanTech, Lensgen and Visus. McCabe reports no relevant financial disclosures.

In this episode, John A. Hovanesian, MD, FACS, and Jim Mazzo are live from the Octane OTF with Euan Thomson, PhD, Barry Kuppermann, MD, Jeffry Weinhuff, Ehsan Sadri, MD, FACS, and a special announcement from Rich Small.

• Welcome to the Eyeluminaries podcast :05
• Review of episode 24 1:38
• Intro of Euan Thomson, PhD 2:10
• What kind of companies did you like working for the most? 3:14
• Can you comment on why adoption of digital solutions is slow and what we can do about it? 4:15
• Geographically speaking, what is the area that is doing the best to incorporate new practices in medicine? 6:04
•  Can you talk about any real-world evidence of the value of using digital ophthalmic workflows being realized today? 7:51
• Intro of Barry Kuppermann, MD, PhD 13:06
• Before his passing, you had several years where you worked with one of the most beloved people in ophthalmology, Roger Steinert. What it was like to work with him? Tell us a fun or inspiring story. 15:51
• What are the biggest challenges today in resident/fellow education? What advice would you give graduating residents/fellows? 18:05
• GHEI has a strong research program. Does it get tougher each year to fund quality research? 20:01
• Where do you want to see GHEI in the long-term? 23:55
• Intro of Jeffry Weinhuff 26:02
• Tell us about your career before entering eye care investing. What is different about our unique specialty within healthcare? 26:38
• Tell us about the Visionary Ventures Fund. Is it looking for new physician investors? 30:24
• Announcement from Rich Small 34:12
• What does Neurotech do? 36:56
• Intro of Ehsan Sadri, MD, FACS, FAAO 38:48
• Doctors frequently get asked to make investments in start-up companies. How do you decide if an investment is a good one? 42:13
• What do you think have been the most innovative companies in eye care during your career? 45:09
• Preview of episode 26 49:33

John A. Hovanesian, MD, FACS, is a faculty member at the UCLA Jules Stein Eye Institute and in private practice at Harvard Eye Associates in Laguna Hills, California.

Barry Kuppermann, MD, PhD, is the Roger F. Steinert professor, chair of the department of ophthalmology and director of the Gavin Herbert Eye Institute at the University of California, Irvine. He also holds a joint appointment with the department of biomedical engineering at UC Irvine.

Jim Mazzo is an ophthalmic industry veteran with over 40 years as CEO/chairman of both public and private companies, including Allergan, Avellino Labs, Carl Zeiss, Neurotech Pharmaceuticals and AMO. Additionally, he is an advisor for Bain Capital and CVC Capital Partners and sits on numerous industry boards such as MDMA.

Ehsan Sadri, MD, FACS, FAAO, is board-certified, fellowship-trained in treating LASIK, cataract and glaucoma surgeries with locations to serve patients in Newport Beach, Santa Ana and Orange. He is also CEO and founder of Visionary Eye Institute and general partner and co-founder of Visionary Ventures Fund (Visionaryvc.com).

Rich Small is CEO and member of the board of directors for Neurotech.

Euan Thomson, PhD, is the president of ophthalmic devices and head of digital business unit at Carl Zeiss Meditec Inc.

Jeffry Weinhuff is the chief investment officer and managing partner of Visionary Ventures Fund, a later-stage venture fund focused on investing in drugs and devices for the eye.

We’d love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to [email protected]. Follow John Hovanesian on X (formerly Twitter) @DrHovanesian.

Disclosures: Hovanesian consults widely in the ophthalmic field. Mazzo reports being an advisor for Anivive Lifesciences, Avellino Labs, Bain Capital, CVC Capital and Zeiss; executive chairman of Neurotech, Preceyes BV and TearLab; and sits on the board of Crystilex, Centricity Vision, IanTech, Lensgen and Visus. Sadri is the CEO and founder of Visionary Eye Institute and general partner and co-founder of Visionary Ventures Fund. Weinhff is the managing partner of Visionary Ventures Fund. Small is chief executive officer and member of the board of directors for Neurotech. Thomson is the president of ophthalmic devices and head of digital business unit at Carl Zeiss Meditec Inc. Weinhuff is the managing partner of Visionary Ventures Fund.

In this episode, John A. Hovanesian, MD, FACS, and Jim Mazzo discuss leadership in eye care with guest Jack T. Holladay, MD, MSEE, FACS.

Brought to you by Johns Hopkins University. •  Welcome to the Eyeluminaries podcast :21 •  Review of episode 23 1:19 •  Blog by John A. Hovanesian, MD, FACS 3:10 •  Merck to acquire EyeBio 4:14 •  FDA approves aflibercept biosimilars Yesafili, Opuviz 6:26 •  Aurion Biotech completes enrollment in phase 1/2 corneal edema cell therapy trial 8:43 •  Intro of Jack Holladay, MD, MSEE 11:10 •  How did you develop a passion for optics? Did you know it was going to be your future? 13:50 •  Holladay’s life-threatening situation 16:21 •  Holladay’s experience teaching residents 23:50 •  Holladay’s optics strategy for improving his golf game 28:33 •  Preview of episode 25 32:25 •  Feedback, questions and guest suggestions at [email protected] 32:45

Jack T. Holladay, MD, MSEE, FACS, is a clinical professor of ophthalmology at Baylor College of Medicine and retired from clinical ophthalmic practice. John A. Hovanesian, MD, FACS, is a faculty member at the UCLA Jules Stein Eye Institute and in private practice at Harvard Eye Associates in Laguna Hills, California. Jim Mazzo is an ophthalmic industry veteran with over 40 years as CEO/Chairman of both public and private companies, including Allergan, Avellino Labs, Carl Zeiss, Neurotech Pharmaceuticals and AMO. Additionally, he is an advisor for Bain Capital and CVC Capital Partners and sits on numerous industry boards such as MDMA. We’d love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to [email protected]. Follow John Hovanesian on X (formerly Twitter) @DrHovanesian. Disclosures: Hovanesian consults widely in the ophthalmic field. Mazzo reports being an adviser for Anivive Lifesciences, Avellino Labs, Bain Capital, CVC Capital and Zeiss; executive chairman of Neurotech, Preceyes BV and TearLab; and sits on the board of Crystilex, Centricity Vision, IanTech, Lensgen and Visus.

In this episode, John A. Hovanesian, MD, FACS, and Jim Mazzo chat with Terry Kim, MD, and Stephen Lane about their careers and transitions at Alcon.

Brought to you by Johns Hopkins University.

• Welcome to the Eyeluminaries podcast :21
• Review of episode 22 1:27
• Intro of Stephen Lane 2:41
• Intro of Terry Kim, MD 6:02
• Lane: Why retire? What’s next? 7:54
• Kim: Why the move to the industry? 10:35
• Lane: What does a chief medical officer do? What did you learn from the time you went from practice to CMO, and what were some of the surprises? 13:14
• Kim: What do you see as some of the challenges you will be facing? 18:19
• Lane: What will you miss the most about being a CMO? 21:03
• In your experience, how do you navigate transitions in a company and lead without losing focus? 24:22
• Preview of episode 24 30:45
• Feedback, questions and guest suggestions at [email protected] 31:34
• Thanks for listening 32:08

John A. Hovanesian, MD, FACS, is a faculty member at the UCLA Jules Stein Eye Institute and in private practice at Harvard Eye Associates in Laguna Hills, California.

Terry Kim, MD, is a professor of ophthalmology at Duke University Eye Center.

Stephen Lane is a founding partner of Associated Eye Care.

Jim Mazzo is an ophthalmic industry veteran with over 40 years as CEO/Chairman of both public and private companies, including Allergan, Avellino Labs, Carl Zeiss, Neurotech Pharmaceuticals and AMO. Additionally, he is an advisor for Bain Capital and CVC Capital Partners and sits on numerous industry boards such as MDMA.

We’d love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to [email protected]. Follow John Hovanesian on X (formerly Twitter) @DrHovanesian.

Disclosures: Hovanesian consults widely in the ophthalmic field. Mazzo reports being an adviser for Zeiss, Bain Capital, Avellino Labs, CVC Capital, Anivive Lifesciences; executive chairman of Neurotech, Preceyes BV and TearLab; and sits on the board of Crystilex, Lensgen, IanTech, Centricity Vision and Visus.

In this episode, John A. Hovanesian, MD, FACS, and Jim Mazzo discuss the latest news in eye care and chat with Wiley A. Chambers, MD, about his career in the FDA and his plans for retirement.

Brought to you by Johns Hopkins University

• Welcome to the Eyeluminaries podcast :21
• Review of episode 21 :50
• Clobetasol propionate ophthalmic suspension 0.05% approved for postop inflammation, pain 2:49
• PulseSight Therapeutics launches with focus on non-viral gene therapies 5:31
• FDA clears first investigational new drug application for neuropathic corneal pain 7:59
• APX3330 ‘promising’ oral treatment option for slowing progression of diabetic retinopathy 10:20
• H. Dunbar Hoskins Jr., decorated glaucoma specialist, dies 11:55
• Intro of Wiley A. Chambers, MD 13:36
• What are you most proud of accomplishing in your 36 years at the FDA? 15:54
• What about oral therapies for the eye? 17:30
• What do you wish you could change? 18:46
• What advice would you give an innovator with a new drug idea? 21:31
• What’s next for Wiley Chambers? Ocular Advisors, LLC 23:17
• What has changed since you left the FDA? 25:11
• Second annual drug name awards: The Year of Vs and Ys 27:04
• “Needs to buy a vowel” award 28:49
• “i before e” award 30:23
• “Most likely to be misspelled” award 31:44
• “Is there a way to pay for it?” award 33:17
• The cutesy award 34:29
• “Need an award” award 36:10
• Preview of episode 23 38:17
• Feedback, questions and guest suggestions at [email protected] 39:59
• Thanks for listening 39:36

John A. Hovanesian, MD, FACS, is a faculty member at the UCLA Jules Stein Eye Institute and in private practice at Harvard Eye Associates in Laguna Hills, California.

Jim Mazzo is an ophthalmic industry veteran with over 40 years as CEO/Chairman of both public and private companies, including Allergan, Avellino Labs, Carl Zeiss, Neurotech Pharmaceuticals and AMO. Additionally, he is an advisor for Bain Capital and CVC Capital Partners and sits on numerous industry boards such as MDMA.

Wiley A. Chambers, MD, is a clinical professor of ophthalmology and adjunct assistant professor of computer medicine at The George Washington University and owner of Ocular Advisors, LLC.

We’d love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to [email protected]. Follow John Hovanesian on X (formerly Twitter) @DrHovanesian.

Disclosures: Chambers is the owner of Ocular Advisors, LLC. Hovanesian consults widely in the ophthalmic field. Mazzo reports being an adviser for Zeiss, Bain Capital, Avellino Labs, CVC Capital, Anivive Lifesciences; executive chairman of Neurotech, Preceyes BV and TearLab; and sits on the board of Crystilex, Lensgen, IanTech, Centricity Vision and Visus.

Quick episode summary

John A. Hovanesian, MD, FACS, and Jim Mazzo sit down with guests Eric D. Donnenfeld, MD, Calvin C. Roberts, MD, Mark L. Baum and Jeannette Bankes to discuss private equity, industry breakthroughs and more.

• Welcome to the Eyeluminaries podcast :00
• Review of episode 20 1:16
• Intro of Eric D. Donnenfeld, MD 2:06
• Understanding the role of private equity: where does it stand and where is it going? 4:22
• Do you see a relief in interest rates and the pace picking up for private equity in the years ahead? 7:19
• What are the technologies that you are most excited about? 8:17
• What are the things to watch out for? 11:08
• Do you have an interesting James Worthy story? 13:34
• Intro of Calvin C. Roberts, MD 15:21
• Transplanting eyes and Advanced Research Project Agency for Health (ARPA-H) 15:48
• How does a chief medical officer work within a company? 18:56
• How is what ARPA-H doing different than simply transplanting an eye? 20:42
• Intro of Mark L. Baum 26:06
• What does the rebranding of the company mean? 27:00
• Pharmaceutical names: VEVYE 28:22
• How will you market VEVYE in the US? 29:48
• Fortisite 31:59
• What is the future of the company? 32:47
• What do you think of Dr. Wiley Chambers’ retirement? 34:09
• Intro of Jeannette Bankes 36:51
• Describe your last five years in the ophthalmic space: the good, the bad, the ugly 39:16

·       If you could change anything in the ophthalmic industry, what would it be? 42:53

·       How excited are you about robotics? 44:06

·       Tell us about your promotion 44:52

·       How can we develop a more diverse leadership in ophthalmology? 45:31

• Preview of episode 22 48:01
• Feedback, questions and guest suggestions at [email protected] 48:18

Jeannette Bankes is the president and general manager of global surgical franchises for Alcon.

Mark L. Baum is the founder, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Harrow.

Eric D. Donnenfeld, MD, is a cornea, laser cataract and refractive surgeon for OCLI Vision.

John A. Hovanesian, MD, FACS, is a faculty member at the UCLA Jules Stein Eye Institute and in private practice at Harvard Eye Associates in Laguna Hills, California.

Jim Mazzo is an ophthalmic industry veteran with over 40 years as CEO/Chairman of both public and private companies, including Allergan, Avellino Labs, Carl Zeiss, Neurotech Pharmaceuticals and AMO. Additionally, he is an advisor for Bain Capital and CVC Capital Partners and sits on numerous industry boards such as MDMA.

Calvin C. Roberts, MD, is a program manager for health science futures at ARPA-H.

We’d love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to [email protected]. Follow John Hovanesian on Twitter @DrHovanesian.

Disclosures: Bankes is the president and general manager of global surgical franchises for Alcon. Baum is the founder, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Harrow. Donnenfeld reports consulting widely across the ophthalmic industry with relevant disclosures in this episode as a consultant with Alcon, Bausch + Lomb, LensGen, Ocular Therapeutix and Omeros. Hovanesian consults widely in the ophthalmic field. Mazzo reports being an adviser for Zeiss, Bain Capital, Avellino Labs, CVC Capital, Anivive Lifesciences; executive chairman of Neurotech, Preceyes BV and TearLab; and sits on the board of Crystilex, Lensgen, IanTech, Centricity Vision and Visus. Thompson is the director of refractive surgery at Vance Thompson Vision. Roberts is program manager for health science futures at ARPA-H.

Hosts Jim Mazzo and John A. Hovanesian, MD, FACS, chat with Vance Thompson, MD, Adrienne Graves, PhD, Sean Ianchulev, MD, and Kristen Harmon Igenito, live from AAO Eyecelerator.

• Welcome to the Eyeluminaries podcast :01
• Review of episode 19 1:31
• Intro of Vance Thompson, MD 2:13
• What is the secret to your success? 3:54
• How many fellows have you trained? 5:20
• How has having a fellowship training program at Vance Thompson Vision impacted your practice? 6:23
• What are the two recently approved products that you are amazed by? 10:02
• What is your favorite wine? 12:55
• What is your favorite dad joke? 15:25
• Intro of Adrienne Graves, PhD 16:59
• How does your background help you serve in the companies and non-profits you work with? 19:43
• What do strategics do for companies? 24:13
• Prescription drug names 25:53
• Intro of Sean Ianchulev, MD, MPH 29:45
• How do your ideas evolve? 31:53

·       Who or what inspires you? 45:58

• Intro of Kristen Harmon Ingenito 49:39
• How is the software different? 51:45
• How is market research changing? 55:19
• What are you most optimistic about in terms of trends? The most challenging? 57:18
• At what point in your life did you decide to work in market research? 59:05
• Preview of episode 21 1:02:32
• Feedback, questions and guest suggestions at [email protected] 1:02:40

Adrienne Graves, PhD, serves as an independent director on the boards of Iveric Bio, Nicox S.A., Greenbrook TMS NeuroHealth, Surface Ophthalmics, Qlaris Bio, and TherOptix and serves as director on the Foundation Boards of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) Foundation, Glaucoma Research Foundation, American Academy of Ophthalmology Foundation (Emeritus), Retina Global, Himalayan Cataract Project, and the Foundation Fighting Blindness Retinal Degeneration Fund.

John A. Hovanesian, MD, FACS, is a faculty member at the UCLA Jules Stein Eye Institute and in private practice at Harvard Eye Associates in Laguna Hills, California.

Sean Ianchulev, MD, MPH, is a Harvard-trained physician-scientist, a professor of ophthalmology and the head of innovation and technology at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary founder and chairman of Iantrek Inc and Eyenovia and serves as a board member for the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery Foundation and AEYE Health.

Kristen Harmon Ingenito has more than a decade of experience in the ophthalmic industry, with nine of those years analyzing data and reporting for Market Scope. Kristen’s industry experience began in 2005 at Market Scope, where she served in many roles, including editing, analysis, sales, and marketing. She then joined an ophthalmic patient education software company, where she worked closely with physicians to help drive value in all aspects of their practices, while also training incoming executives on the business of eye care. She returned to Market Scope with added experience to help expand the company’s portfolio of products and services. Source: Market Scope

Jim Mazzo is an ophthalmic industry veteran with over 40 years as CEO/Chairman of both public and private companies, including Allergan, Avellino Labs, Carl Zeiss, Neurotech Pharmaceuticals and AMO. Additionally, he is an advisor for Bain Capital and CVC Capital Partners and sits on numerous industry boards such as MDMA.

Vance Thompson, MD, is a board-certified ophthalmologist who specializes in refractive surgery including laser vision correction, implant vision correction and advanced cataract surgery and is the director of refractive surgery at Vance Thompson Vision.

We’d love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to [email protected]. Follow John Hovanesian on Twitter @DrHovanesian.

Disclosures: Graves serves as an independent director on the boards of Iveric Bio, Nicox S.A., Greenbrook TMS NeuroHealth, Surface Ophthalmics, Qlaris Bio, and TherOptix and serves as director on the Foundation Boards of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) Foundation, Glaucoma Research Foundation, American Academy of Ophthalmology Foundation (Emeritus), Retina Global, Himalayan Cataract Project, and the Foundation Fighting Blindness Retinal Degeneration Fund. Hovanesian consults widely in the ophthalmic field. Ianchulev is the head of innovation and technology at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary founder and chairman of Iantrek Inc and Eyenovia and serves as a board member for the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery Foundation and AEYE Health. Ingenito develops products and provides services to Market Scope. Mazzo reports being an adviser for Zeiss, Bain Capital, Avellino Labs, CVC Capital, Anivive Lifesciences; executive chairman of Neurotech, Preceyes BV and TearLab; and sits on the board of Crystilex, Lensgen, IanTech, Centricity Vision and Visus. Thompson is the director of refractive surgery at Vance Thompson Vision.

Hosts Jim Mazzo and John A. Hovanesian, MD, FACS, chat with Peter Slack, Greg Kunst, Rich Small and Uday Devgan, MD, FACS, FRCS, live from OSN New York.

• Welcome to the Eyeluminaries podcast :01
• Review of episode 18 :18
• Intro of Peter Slack 1:47
• How did OSN start? 2:35
• When did you get into meetings and where do you see meetings going? 5:40
• Where do you see media going? 7:46
• How did you end up running the Hawaiian Eye Meeting? 10:53
• Intro of Greg Kunst 13:59s
• What will be the biggest challenges introducing a new paradigm for a traditionally surgical disease? 14:52
• What can you tell us about Aurion’s plans for cell therapy in other front and back of the eye disease, in addition to endothelial cell disease? 17:04
• What should I be telling my patients who have future need for endothelial keratoplasty? 19:17
• What is the status of Aurion in Japan? Is the competition on the horizon? 22:13
• Intro of Rich Small 25:53
• Why are you excited about the Encapsulated Cell Therapy Platform? 27:12
• Why MacTel? 31:52
• What is the status of the Neurotech BLA? 32:26

·       Give us a good Jim Mazzo story 34:38

• Intro of Uday Devgan, MD, FACS, FRCS(Glasg) 37:05
• Tell us about how you got started producing one video per day 38:10
• Tell us a story about a doctor from far away who is influenced by your teaching 40:38
• If you could change one thing in residency training today, what would it be? 41:59
• Preview of episode 20 43:51
• Feedback, questions and guest suggestions at [email protected] 44:04

Uday Devgan, MD, FACS, FRCS(Glasg), is Healio|OSN section editor for Ocular Surgery News. He is in private practice, specializing in cataract and refractive surgery, at Devgan Eye Surgery in Los Angeles and a full partner at Specialty Surgical Center in Beverly Hills, California. He has previously served as full clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at the Jules Stein Eye Institute at the UCLA School of Medicine as well as Chief of Ophthalmology at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center and has been actively involved in resident surgical teaching for over two decades. He owns and operates CataractCoach.com.

John A. Hovanesian, MD, FACS, is a faculty member at the UCLA Jules Stein Eye Institute and in private practice at Harvard Eye Associates in Laguna Hills, California.

Greg Kunst is president, chief executive officer and board member at Aurion Biotech. He is focused in areas such as R&D, clinical development, corporate development, strategy, marketing, commercial, business development, market access and medical affairs with extensive knowledge of global health care markets (North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia), global commercialization and market development, upstream and downstream marketing, market access, and medical affairs for medical device, drug delivery systems, diagnostic systems, biotechnology, cell therapies, gene therapies, biologics, and pharmaceutical products.

Jim Mazzo is an ophthalmic industry veteran with over 40 years as CEO/Chairman of both public and private companies, including Allergan, Avellino Labs, Carl Zeiss, Neurotech Pharmaceuticals and AMO. Additionally, he is an advisor for Bain Capital and CVC Capital Partners and sits on numerous industry boards such as MDMA.

Peter N. Slack is president and chief executive officer of The Wyanoke Group. Peter is past-Chairman and a current member of the Board of Trustees for the Center for Family Services, a nonprofit human services agency. Other professional titles and memberships have included Board of Directors of the International Association of Association Management Companies and Board of Directors of the American Medical Publishers Association. In addition, Peter is President of the Broadway Theatre of Pitman in Pitman, NJ.  Disclosure: The Wyanoke Group is the holding company for Healio, the producer of the Eyeluminaries podcast.

Rich Small is chief executive officer and member of the board of directors for Neurotech. He originally joined Neurotech in July 2007 as the company’s chief financial officer. He has in excess of 30 years of both private and public life sciences experience and more than 40 years of overall financial and operational management. Previously Rich served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Point Therapeutics, a publicly traded biotechnology company focused in developing treatments for various cancers.

We’d love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to [email protected]. Follow John Hovanesian on Twitter @DrHovanesian.

Disclosures: Devgan owns and operates CataractCoach.com. Hovanesian consults widely in the ophthalmic field. Kunst is president, chief executive officer and board member at Aurion Biotech. Mazzo reports being an adviser for Zeiss, Bain Capital, Avellino Labs, CVC Capital, Anivive Lifesciences; executive chairman of Neurotech, Preceyes BV and TearLab; and sits on the board of Crystilex, Lensgen, IanTech, Centricity Vision and Visus. Slack is president and chief executive officer of The Wyanoke Group. Small is chief executive officer and member of the board of directors for Neurotech. The Wyanoke Group is the holding company for Healio, the producer of the Eyeluminaries podcast.

Hosts Jim Mazzo and John A. Hovanesian, MD, FACS, chat with Julia Haller, MD, about the latest developments in retina, residency training and more.

• Welcome to the Eyeluminaries podcast :01
• Review of episode 17, live from Octane OTF :41
• Bausch + Lomb makes a number of big moves under the new Brent Saunders regime 1:40
• Mark Baum and Harrow Health have also been making a number of acquisitions 3:59
• FDA approves Xdemvy for Demodex blepharitis treatment 5:45
• Former CEO of Johnson & Johnson Alex Gorsky elected lead director of Neurotech’s board 7:47
• John begins new clinical committee for ASCRS, digital 9:32
• Julia Haller, MD introduction 11:30
• ReST Committee update on intraocular inflammation reported in patients who received Syfovre at the American Society of Retina Specialists annual meeting 13:44
• The FDA approved Izervay for the treatment of geographic atrophy secondary to age-related macular degeneration, according to a press release from Astellas Pharma 14:16
• Novartis is discontinuing the development of GT005 for the treatment of geographic atrophy secondary to dry age-related macular degeneration 14:36
• How has the latest retina news affected patients and physicians? 14:53
• The development of biosimilars 19:50
• Discussion on pricing of products 21:57
• The evolution and future of residency programs 23:34
• Fun with retina drug names 27:15
• Preview of episode 19 at OSN New York 29:46
• Feedback, questions and guest suggestions at [email protected] 30:15
• Thanks for listening 30:27

John A. Hovanesian, MD, FACS, is a faculty member at the UCLA Jules Stein Eye Institute and in private practice at Harvard Eye Associates in Laguna Hills, California.

Jim Mazzo is an ophthalmic industry veteran with over 40 years as CEO/Chairman of both public and private companies, including Allergan, Avellino Labs, Carl Zeiss, Neurotech Pharmaceuticals and AMO. Additionally, he is an advisor for Bain Capital and CVC Capital Partners and sits on numerous industry boards such as MDMA.

Julia Haller, MD, is Ophthalmologist-in-Chief and William Tasman, MD Endowed Chair at Wills Eye Hospital and Professor and Chair of Ophthalmology at Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA.

We’d love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to [email protected]. Follow John Hovanesian on Twitter @DrHovanesian.

Disclosures: Hovanesian consults widely in the ophthalmic field. Mazzo reports being an adviser for Zeiss, Bain Capital, Avellino Labs, CVC Capital, Anivive Lifesciences; executive chairman of Neurotech, Preceyes BV and TearLab; and sits on the board of Crystilex, Lensgen, IanTech, Centricity Vision and Visus. Haller reports being on the board of directors at Bristol Myers Squibb, Opthea and Outlook Therapeutics. She is consultant to Aura Biosciences, Bionic Sight, Lowy Medical Research Institute and Regeneron.