Masters of The Universe

The day concluded with the Masters of the Universe panel where AcuFocus executive chairman Jim Mazzo led a discussion between Link and executives from Abbott Medical Optics, Alcon, Allergan, Bausch & Lomb, Carl Zeiss Meditec, and Johnson & Johnson Vision Care. Mazzo introduced the panel – and the notion of industry consolidation – with a clever take on the game Agar.io as laid out in the TV show, “House of Cards.”

Video Highlights
00:55 – Do you play video games
02:00 – Ophthalmology Strategic Landscape 20 years ago.
02:13 – 15 years ago
02:34 – 10 years ago
02:45 – Today’s strategic landscape
04:04 – Ashley McEvoy on J&J’s diversification
04:54 – J&J “quite bullish on eye health.”
06:00 – Ludwin Monz on Zeiss’ interest in medtech and eye care.
07:54 – Mike Ball on how Alcon fights for resources within Novartis.
09:12 – Ball: “I do like the support we are getting from Novartis.”
10:00 – Tom Frinzi on AMO’s appetite for acquisition.
11:40 – Bill Meury: “We view Allergan as an eye care company.”
13:29 – Bill Link on the venture perspective of ophthalmology.
15:45 – Calvin Roberts, MD, B&L operates independently under Valeant Model
16:45 – Has consolidation hurt innovation?
19:45 – Frinzi: Has it really consolidated?
21:50 – Why doesn’t Wall Street cover ophthalmology?
24:33 – Buy to Grow? Build to Grow? Build to Buy? Bill Link on building new companies.
27:10 – Roberts: Let’s focus on what the big companies do well.
29:00 –Ball: “What I worry about is looking for technology that is complementary and gets us into new areas and gives us the opportunity to take some home run swings.” Points to relationship with Google.
29:30 – Frinzi: Abbott is a med device company but if presented with a drug-based solution AMO would consider it.
30:07 – McEvoy on how J&J evaluates innovation.
32:20 – How do large organization approach medtech opportunities and compete with smaller, more local organizations.
35:00 – To Mike Ball: What lessons did you carry from ophthalmology to Hospira? And when you came back what surprised you the most about how ophthalmology has or hasn’t change?
38:00 – Bill Meury says he’s “never seen” as strong a relationship as the one that exists in ophthalmology.
39:00 – Who has been in eye the longest? Zeiss vs. Bausch & Lomb?
40:00 – Monz – Innovation has been constant – and is growing – at Zeiss.
40:40 – McEvoy on how J&J can grow in ophthalmology.
42:00 – Roberts on how his perspective as an ophthalmologist plays into B&L strategy.
44:10 – To Frinzi, what lessons and strategies apply to both big and small companies?
46:40 – Link: I’m personally a little disappointed that Alcon was separated out (between pharma and device.

Moderator:

Panelists: