OCTANe recently hosted its annual Ophthalmology Technology Summit (OTS) where hundreds of industry leaders, investors and physicians attended to learn about ophthalmology trends and innovations.
The company says that the event say significant growth this year with over 400 attendees at the conference, which is a 35% increase in attendance, year-over-year. oTS is designed to create a local forum where ophthalmology experts and entrepreneurs can talk about new innovations coming from the southern California ophthalmic hub while discussing new business opportunities presented by Orange County’s ophthalmology ecosystem.
OTS had a number of industry leaders on panels, including Brent Saunders, CEO of Allergan, and Jim Mazzo, global president of ophthalmic devices at Carl Zeiss Meditec.
The summit featured panels about innovations and perspective in ophthalmology, the changing practice landscape and practice technology and it impact. It also featured a humanitarian panel with organizations like the Foundation for Fighting Blindness, Armenian Eye Care Project and Project Theia.
“OCTANe has created a strong partnership with key physicians, industry leaders and investors to create a unique two-day experience at OTS,” Bill Carpou, CEO of OCTANe, said. “I want to thank everyone who attended and specifically out tier one sponsors – Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Alcon, Allergan, J&J Vision, Visionary Ventures and Carl Zeiss.”
Gavin Herbert was a recipient of this year’s Roger F. Steinert Honorary Lifetime Achievement award at the summit. The award recognizes exceptional leadership and contribution to the ophthalmic industry.
“To see this tremendous growth in innovation during the past five years is exciting. Growth is not only coming from these ophthalmology companies, but also from venture capital and private equity as well as physicians,” Mazzo said. “But for me, the true highlight at OTS was awarding Gavin Herbert the Roger Steinert Lifetime Achievement Award. Gavin built our industry and is a true legend.”
The summit also featured four new LaunchPad SBDC presentations that included Allegro Ophthalmics, Eyedaptic, LensGen and Novaliq. Allegro Ophthalmics was the winner of the LaunchPad SBDC award.
OCTANe has also announced dates for several of its events next year. The Technology Innovation Forum will be held May 13-14 at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel and Spa. The next OTS will be June 28 at the Fashion Island Hotel and the next Medical Technology Innovation Forum will be held October 28-29 at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel and Spa.
