With Alan Bennett and Dr. William Lee – Meet the new board members of EFCLIN

Speed date –

Meet the new board members of EFCLIN

The European Federation of the Contact Lens and IOL Industries, EFCLIN, has elected two new members to its board of directors in 2021. Alan Bennett, a senior quality leader for the specialty vision products team of Bausch & Lomb, now serves as secretary to EFCLIN. Dr. William Lee, VP of R&D and regulatory affairs at AST Products, Inc. (U.S.A.) and president of ICARES Medicus, Inc. (Taiwan), has taken on the role of treasurer. GlobalCONTACT has asked both the same seven questions. By Silke Sage

For the second year in a row, EFCLIN members were unable to meet in person due to the pandemic. On April 16, 2021 – for the first time in its history – they met online for the annual general meeting. This date also marked the end of the second period of service for two board members: Tanja Malkus , B+L Boston Materials, who served as secretary on the board, and Peter Vermeulen Ophtecs-Europe B.V., hitherto treasurer. Both were honored for their commitment to EFCLIN and their work was acknowledged. It was also announced when the next live meeting will take place: The 2022 EFCLIN Annual Congress and Exhibition will be held from 28th to 30th April 2022 at the Melia Hotel in Sitges/Barcelona, Spain. The organizers will stay with the concept of lectures in the morning, exhibition in the afternoon. But first things first: Let's take time to get to know the new players. 7 questions, 7 answers to Alan Bennett and Dr. William Lee.

GlobalCONTACT: Briefly describe yourself: what is your professional background and which of your skills are of particular value to EFCLIN? Bennett: My professional background was originally in the field of industrial engineering (process improvements, process measurement and operational planning) for the Royal Mail in the UK. After 20 years I needed a change and moved to Bausch & Lomb. I have been in the field of medical device quality for eleven years and have found myself increasingly involved at an industry level through collaboration with Euromcontact, the ACLM (UK) and now with EFCLIN as a newly appointed board member. As we are all starkly aware the regulatory landscape within Europe has dramatically changed since the publication of the EU MDR, and continues to present additional challenges – such as the PFAS chemicals issue. With my strong background in quality and experience of working closely with the incredible industry associations I intend to leverage this knowledge to the industry’s benefit by working in a much more influential way with the EFCLIN community. Alan Bennett Lee: I am the VP of R&D and regulatory affairs at AST Products, Inc. (U.S.A.) and the president of Icares Medicus, Inc. (Taiwan). As an engineer, executive and entrepreneur, I have over 30 years of experience in surface treatment technology, and product design and development for IOLs and IOL injectors. I am the sole inventor of the Dr William Lee LubriMATRIX surface treatment technology that has been applied onto more than five million IOL injectors annually, and was awarded the 2020 Heroes of Chemistry Award by the American Chemical Society (ACS). I obtained my Ph.D. in chemistry and biotechnology, B.Eng. and M.Eng. in chemical engineering from the University of Tokyo, Japan. I am fluent in seven languages including English, Japanese, Mandarin and Malay, and a serial Japanese calligraphy awardee in Japan.

GlobalCONTACT: What are your goals and plans for your upcoming time as a board member? Bennett: My primary focus is split two ways: The first is to support the industry in every way I know how in terms of the regulatory challenges that have been so prominent in our industry. There is the EU MDR – a monumental hurdle to cross for companies large or small; there are the new UK regulations (post-Brexit), and then there are the new challenges from the PFAS chemicals issue (as a result of the EU Chemicals Strategy). The second is to help promote EFCLIN and build sustainable growth in active membership, which is why I volunteered to serve as secretary within the board structure. I have learned over the past few years that our industry has grown stronger and more effective in how it tackles regulatory and quality challenges if we all work together – one unified, stronger voice! Lee: Firstly, to assist in expanding the network of EFCLIN to the IOL and contact lens communities around the world. Particularly, I think the IOL section of EFCLIN still has a lot of room to expand and improve in order to create more value for our members. Secondly, to match academic research with industries for more innovative commercialization of technologies that will bring value and benefits to the end users.

WITH ALL OF THE REGULATORY CHALLENGES THE INDUSTRY HAS HAD TO FOCUS ON THESE IN ORDER TO PROTECT ITSELF LONG TERM.

WE NEED TO CREATE A COMMON PLACE FOR MEMBERS TO EXCHANGE IDEAS THAT WOULD EVENTUALLY LEAD TO INNOVATIVE CREATIONS.

(DR. WILLIAM LEE)

GlobalCONTACT: What excites you about serving as a board member? Bennett: Working with such a talented and energized group of industry professionals – both on the board, and being able to work more closely with the various member companies. When you get such a diverse range of talents together in one place you are always going to get a result that is something special. Our industry has the benefit of presenting endless learning opportunities, so by working with so many different people those opportunities remain fresh and exciting. Lee: As mentioned above, to assist on expanding the IOL section of EFCLIN.

GlobalCONTACT: What have you achieved so far? Bennett: So far, having attended my first board meeting, I have started contributing to the initial plans for the 2022 EFCLIN Congress. In the last few weeks I have also acted as moderator for the IOL edge profiles webinar delivered by Dr. Mayank Nanavaty (Consultant Ophthalmologist). Lee: To get Santen Pharmaceutical to become a corporate member of the EFCLIN this month.

GlobalCONTACT: What does the industry need most right now? Bennett: In short – stability! With all of the regulatory challenges that have happened over the past few years, as well as the ongoing ones, the industry has had to focus on these in order to protect itself long term. These challenges create a lot of worry that ultimately detracts from the creative process of bringing new and innovative products to market. We now need a stable period wherein we can all implement the required changes, get our organizations onto a good track and then do what we all do best – support our professional customers as they support their patients. Lee: Integration of various technologies in order to create and commercialize the so-called smart contact lenses and smart IOLs, and eventually bring values and benefits to the end users.

GlobalCONTACT: How can EFCLIN continue to increase its number of members? Bennett: Continue to reach out to companies that are not members and help them to understand how working with one voice will help the industry, both to endure and to grow. In addition we can extend our reach through creative use of remote working tools – something that the COVID pandemic has taught us all. Lee: While the number is important, I think more importantly, the quality of members has to be achieved. In order to do so, EFCLIN needs to step up its standard and quality so that all members can have a win-win relationship. We need to create a common place for members to exchange ideas that would eventually lead to innovative creations. Before achieving such, we need to provide valuable lectures, seminars and an annual conference in order to attract more members and attendees.

GlobalCONTACT: What do you like to say to the members of EFCLIN? Bennett: These difficult times will pass us by. As an industry we have amazing products that help our professional clinical colleagues to protect the precious gift of sight. EFCLIN is committed to bringing together our industry and to support its growth through innovation. Thank you to all of our members for supporting our goals, and I – along with my board colleagues – look forward to continuing to work with you all long into the future. Lee: I am very honored to have been elected as a board member and I will try my best to bring more values to all of us in the EFCLIN family.