This category recognizes clinicians involved in the development of a novel treatment that has significantly enhanced or changed the ophthalmic landscape.

WINNER

Ike Ahmed, MD
Assistant Professor and Director of the Glaucoma and Advanced Anterior Surgical Fellowship - University of Toronto, Canada/Prism Eye Institute
Dr. Ahmed has designed innovative glaucoma diamond scalpels for surgery, microsurgical instrumentation, and devices, implants, and techniques for the management of the dislocated cataract, iris reconstruction, and glaucoma implant devices. He has done pioneering work in innovative glaucoma surgery, developing and coining the term “Micro-Invasive Glaucoma Surgery (MIGS)” as a new genre of surgical approaches and devices. As a result of his innovative expertise, Dr. Ahmed has been asked to consult for a variety of companies and manufacturers, especially pertaining to the development of new devices and technologies.

FINALISTS

Mark Humayun, MD
Professor of Ophthalmology and Director - University of Southern California, Roski Eye Institute
Dr. Humayun is the co-inventor of the world’s first FDA approved retinal prosthesis (Argus II), which restores functional sight to those with complete retinal blindness. In 2016, Dr. Humayun received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation from President Barack Obama for his innovative work and development of the Argus II. He has more than 100 patent/patent applications and more than 200 peer reviewed publications.

Eric Donnenfeld, MD
Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology - NYU/ Ophthalmic Consultants of Long Island
Dr. Donnenfeld has written over 190 peer-reviewed papers on cornea, external disease, cataract and refractive surgery, and 38 book chapters and books. He is on the editorial board of nine journals and has participated in over 60 FDA studies. He was an initial clinical investigator in the FDA trials for both laser vision correction and laser cataract surgery.

Vance Thompson, MD
Vance Thompson Vision
Dr. Thompson has played an important role in the discovery and development of the advanced technologies and techniques used in both laser and implant vision correction surgeries today. Serving as the medical monitor lead, or principal investigator, Dr. Thompson has led over 65 FDA-monitored clinical trials on the subjects, has published numerous papers and book chapters on his findings and co-authored a textbook titled Refractive Surgery.

This category recognizes industry executives responsible for bringing a new therapy to market.

WINNER

Eugene de Juan, MD
Founder & Vice-Chairman - ForSight Labs
Dr. de Juan, Jr., has participated in the development of a number of ophthalmology’s most exciting new technologies with over 100 products and the founding of nine venture funded companies including Second Sight, InnoRx, NeoVista, and Retina Labs, in addition to ForSight Labs’ first five “VISION” companies: Transcend Medical, Inc., founded in 2005; VISION2 (acquired by QLT, Inc. in 2007); Nexis Vision, Inc. (formerly ForSight VISION3, Inc.), founded in 2007; ForSight VISION4, Inc., founded in 2009; and ForSight VISION5, Inc., founded in 2010.

FINALISTS

Vince Anido
CEO & Chairman of the Board - Aerie Pharmaceuticals
Dr. Anido is the former President, CEO, and Director of ISTA Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which was acquired by Bausch + Lomb, Inc. in 2012. Prior to joining ISTA Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Anido served as general partner of Windamere Venture Partners from 2000 to 2001. From 1996 to 1999, Dr. Anido served as President and Chief Executive Officer of CombiChem, Inc. From 1993 to 1996, Dr. Anido served as President of the Americas Region of Allergan, Inc., where he was responsible for Allergan’s commercial operations for North and South America. Prior to joining Allergan, Dr. Anido spent 17 years at Marion Laboratories and Marion Merrell Dow, Inc. Dr. Anido previously served as a member of the board of directors of QLT Inc., Depomed, Inc., Nicox S.A. and Apria Healthcare, Inc.

Tom Burns
President & CEO - Glaukos
Mr. Burns has a proven record of building successful medical device and pharmaceutical businesses and creating successful new markets in ophthalmology. Mr. Burns has more than 25 years of direct ophthalmic management experience, including over 20 years of general management experience across a broad range of ophthalmic medical devices, ophthalmic pharmaceuticals, drug delivery technologies, surgical products and over-the-counter products.

Tom Frinzi
Worldwide President, Surgical - Johnson & Johnson Vision
Mr. Frinzi led Abbott Medical Optics prior to Johnson & Johnson's acquisition of the cataract, refractive and consumer eye health businesses. Prior to this, Tom held several leadership positions in ophthalmology and medical device companies, including serving as President and CEO of WaveTec Vision, a developer of surgical systems for eye surgery. Tom also held senior positions in commercial operations, business development, and sales and marketing at Bausch + Lomb, Refractec and Johnson & Johnson.

This category recognizes the next-generation of clinical KOLs who are entrepreneurial and/or collaborative with industry.

WINNER

Elizabeth Yeu, MD
Partner - Virginia Eye Consultants/Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology - Eastern Virginia Medical School
Dr. Yeu is a nationally recognized leader and influential physician and educator in the eye care industry. She is actively involved in clinical research of new technologies and therapies to enhance overall vision and ocular health. She is highly regarded for her commitment to exceptional patient outcomes by incorporating novel therapeutics and advanced surgical techniques into her practice. She has authored several industry journal publications and book chapters, and is the Co-Chief Medical Editor for Millennial Eye.

FINALISTS

John Berdahl, MD
Vance Thompson Vision/ Founder & CEO - Equinox
John has been involved in numerous FDA monitored clinical trials on some of the most exciting technologies in ophthalmology. He also founded Equinox, which is developing the first non-surgical, non-pharmacologic way to lower eye pressure for glaucoma treatment. He co-invented the MKO melt, which provides sedation during cataract surgery without the use of an IV. Additionally, he created astigmatismfix.com which helps thousands of surgeons per month fix residual astigmatism after cataract surgery. Finally, in an effort to improve access to care, he co-founded ExpertOpinion.MD which provides online opinions to patients from top doctors around the world.

Kendall Donaldson, MD
Bascom Palmer Eye Institute
Kendall E. Donaldson, MD, MS, Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology and cornea specialist at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute completed her residency training and cornea/external disease fellowship at Bascom Palmer in 2004. Prior to ophthalmology she completed a Master’s degree in anatomy and physiology, serving as an instructor and eventually directing the anatomy labs for the University of Maryland throughout the course of her undergraduate and graduate education. During her ophthalmology training, she also pursued a certificate program in Management through the Wharton School for Business preparing her to become the Medical Director of the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute at the Plantation satellite upon its opening in November of 2004. Since that time, the satellite has grown to include 16 doctors who rotate through the facility providing patients with a full spectrum of ophthalmic services including the highly specialized care available at the Ocular Surface Center in Plantation.

William Wiley, MD
Medical Director - Cleveland Eye Clinic
Dr. Wiley has been involved early on with many technologies, including corneal inlays, accommodating IOLs. He’s also pioneered many procedures in Northeast Ohio and was the first in Cleveland to perform laser cataract surgery and implant the Light Adjustable Lens (now RxSight), Tecnis multifocal (Johnson & Johnson Vision), and Crystalens (Bausch + Lomb) IOLs.

This category recognizes the industry “up-and-comers” playing an active role in the development or commercialization of innovative ophthalmic treatments.

WINNER

Yari Mitchell
Vice President of Global Medical Affairs & Business Strategy - AcuFocus
Yari L. Mitchell is a core member of AcuFocus' business development team responsible for raising nearly $70 million dollars. During her 15-year career in the global eye care industry she has been a key member of the teams launching innovative vision technologies such as wavefront-guided ablations and presbyopia-correcting IOLs. She is a former President and member of the Board of Directors for the Ophthalmic World Leaders (OWL).

FINALISTS

Michael Ackermann
Chairman - Oyster Point Pharmaceuticals
Michael founded of Oyster Point Pharma in 2015 and is currently developing two additional early-stage healthcare ventures. He was most ecently Vice President, Neurostimulation for Allergan after serving as CEO of Oculeve, Inc., which was acquired by Allergan in August 2015. He has experience in medical device and pharmaceutical development in both academic and industrial settings. He received a B.E. degree, magna cum laude, in biomedical engineering from Vanderbilt University; M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in biomedical engineering from Case Western Reserve University; is a graduate of the Stanford University Biodesign Fellowship; and Vision Research Fellowship at Stanford. He has numerous patents and peer-reviewed publications.

Kfir Azoulay
VP & Head, Corporate Strategy - Heidelberg Engineering
Kfir Azoulay is a technology leader in the field of ophthalmic diagnostic imaging systems and ophthalmic healthcare IT solutions (including PACS, EMR, and Data Analytics). In his current role, he oversees business development as well as the company’s other global strategic initiatives. Prior to Heidelberg Engineering, Mr. Azoulay served for several years as Vice President & General Manager of Lumenis’ global ophthalmology business. Mr. Azoulay currently also serves on the Board of Directors of several companies in the ophthalmology field, including Gauss Infomed (China), Medisoft Ltd. (UK), and Implandata GmbH (Germany). Mr. Azoulay holds a Masters’ degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and he also successfully completed the ophthalmology science program (BCSC) at Columbia University in New York. He has lived, worked, and studied in 6 countries.

Andy Chang
Head of Global Sales, Ophthalmic Devices - Carl Zeiss Meditec AG
Andrew Chang is Head of Global Sales for Carl Zeiss Meditec’s Strategic Business Unit Ophthalmic Devices, which includes Ophthalmic Diagnostics, Surgical Ophthalmology and Refractive Lasers. Prior to his joining ZEISS, Chang was General Manager and Senior Vice President for Bausch + Lomb Surgical where he led the sales, marketing, operations and business development for the US. Previously at Optimedica Corporation / Abbott Medical Optics, Inc., Chang led the marketing and launch of new laser systems and new indications globally. At ISTA Pharmaceutical / Bausch + Lomb, Chang held various marketing, sales and product development roles and led the market introductions of ophthalmic pharmaceuticals.

This category recognizes an impressive fundraising, IPO, M&A, or restructuring in the past 12 months.

WINNER

Apellis Pharmaceuticals - $150M IPO
On November 13, 2017, Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapeutic compounds to treat disease through the inhibition of the complement system, announced the closing of its initial public offering of 10,714,000 shares of common stock at a public offering price of $14.00 per share.

FINALISTS

EyePoint Pharma - pSivida acquisition of Icon Biosciences, raising $60.5 M in capital
The team at pSivida raised $60.5 million of development capital from EW Healthcare Partners and other undisclosed investors on March 28, 2018, through a private placement. In addition, the company also received $20 million of senior secured debt financing from SWK Holdings. The funding was used to finance the acquisition of Icon Bioscience and prepare for the commercial launches of DEXYCU and Durasert micro-insert for the treatment of non-infectious uveitis affecting the posterior segment of the eye. The combined entities were rebranded and are now doing business as EyePoint Pharmaceuticals.

Gemini Therapeutics - $42.5M Series A
On October 17, 2017, Gemini Therapeutics, a precision medicine company focused on genetically-defined dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and associated rare genetic diseases, announced the completion of a $42.5 million Series A co-led by Atlas Venture, Lightstone Ventures and OrbiMed.

This category recognizes a “disruptive technology” that has come to market in the past 12 months.

WINNER

Light Adjustable Lens (RxLAL™)
RxSight’s Light Adjustable Lens (RxLAL™) technology offers the potential to provide unparalleled visual outcomes to the patient by incorporating an interactive refraction process and the ability to optimize implanted intraocular lens (IOL) based on the patient's visual preference.

FINALISTS

IDx-DR
IDx-DR is the first device authorized for marketing that provides a screening decision without the need for a clinician to also interpret the image or results, which makes it usable by health care providers who may not normally be involved in eye care.

LUXTURNA
LUXTURNA, developed by Spark Therapeutics, is the first directly administered gene therapy approved in the U.S. that targets a disease caused by mutations in a specific gene.