june, 2019 | The Health
Health Business
Celebrating 60 years
of innovation
V
arilux®, the global brand that moved
the optical industry from bifocals to
progressive lens celebrates 60 years of
innovation this year. In Malaysia, Varilux
hosted a festive soiree recently to also
celebrate its status as the number one
progressive lens brand recommended by eye care
professionals.
“The company has come a long way since its inception
in 1959, and today it is the number one progressive lens
brand. None of this would have been possible without
the strong support from the eye care professionals and
the confidence consumers have placed in us. This is a
strong testimonial for us and we would like to thank
everyone who has played an integral part in achiev-
ing this milestone,” said Jean-Philippe Ho, General
Manager, Essilor Malaysia.
Since the success of its first lens, Varilux® has a full
range of lenses and continues to innovate, all in order
to suit the wearer’s individual needs. It has worked
with 38 academic institutions worldwide to a number
of lens solutions including Varilux® Comfort, which is
a giant step forward in terms of adaptation and ease of
use, as well as the latest innovation Varilux® X series™,
which is the first progressive lens to maximise vision at
arm’s length, dramatically reducing head movements
to ensure natural vision.
Presbyopia, an older condition
Around the world, an estimated 1.8 billion people have
presbyopia – a natural eye condition that generally
affects those in their 40s, causing them to lose the
ability to see close up, such as reading and going about
in doing everyday tasks. The new reality of presbyopia
today is that it is no longer caused by age alone but due
to the daily long use of digital devices at closer reading
distances causing damaging eye strain. New findings
have shown that near vision starts to decrease at 37
From left: Wong Kok Yoong, Commercial Head of
Essilor Malaysia, Denis Chng, Country Manager of
Essilor Singapore & Malaysia, and Jean-Phillipe Ho,
General Manager of Essilor Malaysia.
years old, resulting in younger presbyopes.
For years, the go-to solution for presbyopia was
wearing bifocal lens. Wearers often experienced
unwanted side effects such as uncomfortable jumps
in vision and general disruptions in doing simple tasks
such as reading and other day-to-day activities.
Deciding to solve the drawbacks of bifocals, Ber-
nard Maitenaz revolutionised the industry with his
innovative creation, Varilux® – a lens solution which
gives dynamic clarity and greater comfort, providing
natural vision for near, far and in-between. Varilux®
has provided the wearer with eye correction needed
for presbyopia while avoiding the drawbacks that come
with bifocals.
“We believe that neither your age nor your vision
should slow you down. The wearer is always at the heart
of any Varilux® conception and we want to continue
doing so, by empowering superior vision, at any dis-
tance, in any situation, allowing presbyopes to live life
with improved vision”, added Jean. — The Health
AstraZeneca partners
with CARiNG pharmacy chain
A
straZeneca Malaysia and the CARiNG
Pharmacy chain have joined hands in a recent
Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to embark
on a partnership intended to improve the health and
lives of patients with asthma.
This partnership marks a significant milestone as part
of the Healthy Lung Malaysia Programme, an initiative
by AstraZeneca Malaysia aimed at delivering improve-
ments for patients’ nationwide living with respiratory
diseases – particularly with asthma and COPD, via a
multi-faceted approach of increasing disease awareness,
building healthcare provider capability, increasing access
to healthcare and improving understanding of disease
and effective treatment.
The CARiNG pharmacy chain’s landmark decision
makes it the first pharmacy chain to collaborate with
AstraZeneca Malaysia to launch the MyAsthma cam-
paign, focused on empowering patients to enhance their
understanding and management of their asthma.
Currently in its pilot phase, the MyAsthma campaign,
which is part of the Healthy Lung programme, focuses
on three key areas:
• Patient-centric education and support
• Knowledge and capability building for healthcare
providers, and
• Digital-based solutions
Through the MyAsthma campaign, several initia-
tives will be rolled out in line with the three key areas
identified:
In terms of patient-centric education and support,
close to 200 CARiNG pharmacists across 126 CARiNG
outlets in Malaysia will motivate every asthma patient
they serve to enrol in MyAsthma, with the aim of reach-
ing 20,000 patients through the CARiNG pharmacy
chain. Patients needing extra help will be identified by
pharmacists to receive asthma counselling by Breathe
EaSY nurse educators appointed by AstraZeneca, to
AstraZeneca & Caring Pharmacy MyAsthma MoA 2 .
improve disease management. CARiNG pharmacists
will support the nurses by continuing to assess if patients
are compliant with disease control advice. At the same
time, patients will be empowered with more knowledge
on asthma through a digital platform, accessible anytime
at their own convenience.
For knowledge and capability building for healthcare
providers, AstraZeneca will work with relevant medical
associations to develop and support training for CARiNG
pharmacists.
Digital-based solutions will be applied for patient edu-
cation, whereby information and educational materials
will be channelled through a digital platform. All patients
will be able to register with MyAsthma and access digital
and video content via scanning a QR code displayed
instore. Patients can learn the correct technique for
inhaler use for better disease control, read explanations
on the myths and facts surrounding asthma and much
more.
Under other Healthy Lung initiatives, AstraZeneca
Malaysia has been working with Asthma Malaysia since
2017 to increase awareness of asthma among the public.
The organisation is a trusted online resource for the
public to learn about and understand asthma better.
— The Health
09
Briefs
Omnicomm successfully
launches innovation
forum in Asia
New drug innovation, patient-centric
eClinical solutions and the latest trends in
pharmaceutical research topped the agenda at
Innovation Forum Asia, an inaugural customer
summit hosted by OmniComm Systems, Inc.
(OTCQX: OMCM), a leading global provider of
clinical data management technology. Co-
hosted by Tri-I Biotech, the Shanghai-based
event attracted a larger-than-anticipated crowd
of attendees and speakers.
“This was a great event for OmniComm in
China. I am so happy to see the rapid growth of
OmniComm’s business in the region, and I want
to thank Tri-I for its great partnership with us
during the past four years,” said Feng Cheng,
GM of OmniComm China.
Innovation Forum Asia drew a large crowd
of representatives from nearly 50 life science
organizations. During the two-day event,
attendees heard presentations from thought
leaders, academic researchers and OmniComm
customers who have achieved significant gains in
productivity, automation, data quality, operational
efficiency and compliance in their conduct of
clinical trials using OmniComm’s EDC products.
“We are very happy to be a partner of
OmniComm and work with them to provide
advanced clinical software to our customers in
China,” said Michael Lee, founder and GM of Tri-I.
“As a local company, we have a strong regional
network, which helps OmniComm grow and
support its business in China. Tri-I has a team of
close to 20 people dedicated to OmniComm’s
products. We provide expertise and high-quality
services to customers.”
Mary Kay unveils
breakthrough research
Mary Kay Inc., a global beauty company and
leader in skin care innovation, continues its
ongoing support of the beauty and scientific
communities by participating in two global
dermatological conferences this spring.
Mary Kay attended the prestigious Reunión
Anual de Dermatólogos Latinoamericanos
(RADLA) May 4–7 in Buenos Aires, Argentina,
where it presented findings related to the effects
of pollution on skin health. The company will also
sponsor the 77th Annual Meeting of the Society
for Investigative Dermatology (SID) in Chicago,
May 8–11, where it will reveal its latest research
on how five fruit extracts known to contain
vitamin C work to help skin appearance.
During the 37th annual RADLA conference,
leading skin care experts from around the world
convened to explore various topics, including
the impact of external environmental aggressors
on skin health. Mary Kay presented research
focused on skin concerns stemming from diesel
exhaust particles (DEP) in the environment.
Continued exposure to DEP increases free
radicals in skin cells, which can ultimately impact
premature signs of skin aging, like dark spots and
dullness Fortunately, Mary Kay also presented
findings on an antioxidant complex that can help
delay the premature signs of aging related to
the damaging effects of DEP. This breakthrough
technology, found in the Mary Kay®TimeWise®
Miracle Set 3D™ skin care line, provides a
powerful free-radical regimen with an exclusive,
patent-pending, three-dimensional approach to
skin aging.
“Mary Kay scientists spent years researching
the latest ingredient innovations to develop
our newest skin care collection that defends
against free radicals and helps delay the onset
of premature skin aging from unavoidable
environmental and lifestyle stressors such as car
exhaust and air pollution,” said Dr. Lucy Gildea,
Chief Scientific Officer at Mary Kay Inc. — The
Health