OCTANe's Ophthalmology Technology Summit Attracts Top Business Leaders

ALISO VIEJO, CA--(Marketwired - Jun 22, 2015) - OCTANe today announced record attendance at its third annual Ophthalmology Technology Summit. The Summit created a forum where local leading technologists, researchers, clinicians, and entrepreneurs could connect and discuss current trends, clinical requirements, patient care and new business opportunities to grow the ophthalmology ecosystem in Orange County. Content focused on industry trends surrounding ophthalmology.

Arguably the nation's leading epicenter for ophthalmology, Orange County is home to many of the top leaders in the field. In attendance were leaders such as Brent Saunders, CEO of Allergan; Jim Mazzo, CEO of AcuFocus; Gavin Herbert, founder of Allergan; and Roger Steinert, director of the Gavin Herbert Eye Institute.

"Attracting these business leaders shows OCTANe's value to the region in helping to create company formation and growth in ophthalmology and high technology areas," said Bill Carpou, CEO of OCTANe. "With the high quality of participants we had in attendance, any and all challenges a company could face as an ophthalmology start up or early stage company were addressed at our event."

The Summit was highlighted with a one-on-one interview between Jim Mazzo and Brent Saunders. The plans for Irvine to continue being a significant and growing part of Allergan were addressed, among other topics.

"The conference provided an opportunity for senior executives in the ophthalmology field to interact and brainstorm," said Jim Mazzo. "OCTANe has created an ecosystem for the ophthalmology industry to validate assumptions, challenge ideas and develop relationships that will benefit the industry and Orange County."

Attendees were treated to panel discussions on early-stage company development, growth stage development, and a keynote by Dr. Bill Link, managing director of Versant Ventures, on the lifecycle of a company.

OCTANe will host the Orange County Sports Technology Summit on July 16, followed by the Aesthetics and Dermatology Summit on September 26. The next signature event will be the Medical Device Investor Forum (MDIF) on November 2-3, 2015 at the Hotel Irvine. MDIF is focused on a variety of healthcare technology areas, including life science investment, regulations, policy, entrepreneurial activities and state of the art industry updates. For more information, visit www.octaneoc.org.

About OCTANe:

OCTANe connects people and resources to drive technology industry growth enabling new company creation and new jobs in Orange County. Its members represent Orange County technology executive leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, venture capitalists, academicians, and strategic advisors, all working together to fuel innovation in the OC. The organization has helped more than 800 companies via the LaunchPad™ SBDC accelerator. LaunchPad™ companies have received more than $813 million in investment and equity exits. These investments have supported the creation of more than 3,500 new jobs in Orange County. OCTANe annually welcomes more than 6,000 people to its programs and events. More than 2,000 business leaders throughout the Orange County region are OCTANe members. For more information, visit www.octaneoc.org.