As president and CEO of LENTECHS, a clinical-stage ophthalmic device company on the verge of commercializing a new contact lens, Robin Sears applies the core competencies he learned while moving through the ranks at Johnson & Johnson and Allergan.

As told to podcast host Paul Karpecki, OD, when Robin heard about the presbyopia lens developed by Melissa Bailey, OD, PhD, and Joe Barr, OD, he saw a tremendous opportunity to reshape the market. He started fundraising and turned a novel invention into a business.

Because of the demand for a presbyopia lens, that business may soon take off. LENTECHS research showed 74% of presbyopes who wear glasses want a contact lens solution. Why aren’t they using one now? Visual compromise. Current lenses don’t resolve near, mid, and far vision well enough for this growing population.

The LENTECHS lens, called APIOC™, is based on a new type of contact lens-wearing experience. The lens is suspended behind the upper eyelid, which allows the eye to move freely behind the stable contact lens. It’s like wearing progressives, but without the glasses. After successful clinical trials, the company is currently staging for commercial launch in late 2022.

Listen to this podcast to discover:

• The LENTECHS MOA: How APIOC works with the eye’s anatomy rather than on the eye’s anatomy.
• How Robin helped build Allergan’s then-new dry eye product, Restasis, into a billion-dollar drop. While there, he also led multiple teams to achieve billions in sales.
• The common traits needed to lead startup, continuing success, and turnaround opportunities.
• The full story on LENTECHS’s rise from concept to company.
• What Robin learned from his earliest mentors: his father, a dairy farmer; and an MBA professor who literally wrote the book on taking biotechnology research from the bench to industry.