The Eyesight Sessions - David Spence

Welcome to the Eyesight Sessions, a series focused on the people in the Ophthalmology and Eyecare markets. These interviews are designed to focus on leaders in the space; their journey, their influences, what they are currently working on and their passions outside of eyecare.

This edition features David A. Spence of MERIDIAN MEDICAL LASERS who shares insights into the US launch of Meridian's MR Q family of ophthalmic lasers, his passion for LinkedIn branding and what he gets up to outside of work.

Firstly, for those in my network who may not be familiar, can you give us a brief introduction to yourself and your role at Meridian Medical Lasers?

I am the Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Meridian Medical USA, a division of Meridian Medical Lasers AG, Based in Bern, Switzerland.?? My role as the sole US based employee of the organization is to promote, advance, and protect the interests of Meridian Medical in this country.?

So, you started in Ophthalmology on the pharma side with Alcon after many years working in an entirely different sector. Can you tell us more about how you came to join the ophthalmic industry and what has kept you in the space for so many years?

I have always been intent to have a career in medical sales. I was fortunate to “cut my teeth” in the medical industry in specialty pharma with Alcon, with the intent to transition to the surgical side of the business.?My degree is in medicine and also, I had 14+ years of business experience with the 9th largest privately held company in America.?

I really enjoy being in Ophthalmology for a number of reasons.?From an impact standpoint, indirectly improving the way people see is very powerful because our sense of sight is the primary way most people experience the world around us.?What’s truly kept me in the specialty are the people and the relationships I’ve developed over my career with Alcon , ArcScan, Inc. , and now MERIDIAN MEDICAL LASERS .?

At the beginning of this year, you joined Meridian Medical Lasers to head up their launch of the MR Q lasers into the US market. Can you tell us a little about what you have been up to since joining?

I knew going into it, that these first year would be challenging in many ways.? There’s a ton of competition in the ophthalmic laser space, and Meridian Medical is an unknown to the vast majority of eye care professionals in the US.?

Raising brand awareness as well as launching the MR Q family of lasers makes it even more difficult.? I also had no prior experience managing distributors, which is how we sell our products to the end user, so there was a learning curve there.

The good news is that I learn quickly and at the six-month point, I assessed where we were and with the support of Switzerland made sone major changes to how we are structured from a partnership and personnel standpoint.

We mutually parted ways with one of the distributor partners where we weren’t aligned in many ways, and we’ve pivoted to an independent sales

partner model, where we have three very seasoned and capable people that we are confident will make a difference and were also fortunate to partner with the largest independent distributor of ophthalmic products in the US in Sunshine Ophthalmic.

Focusing on the technology for a minute, what does the MR Q family of lasers bring to the US market that other lasers can't?

The entire portfolio of Meridian Medical lasers, that includes the Merilas as well as the MR Q families, are unique in that they are the only Swiss-made laser in the world, where they are known historically for producing high-quality precision equipment and instrumentation.

Meridian Medical launched the first commercial YAG laser in 1981, the Microruptor II, creating the category for ophthalmic lasers.? Since then, we’ve continued to lead in innovation, safety, and reliability of our lasers by using quality materials, attention to detail craftsmanship.?

You have always been someone who is passionate about showing the work you do through sharing videos of customer meetings and OR cases here on LinkedIn. I'm interested to learn more about the inspiration behind this and the success it has brought?

I haven’t always been so active on LinkedIn and posting videos.? I was asked by our marketing director at ArcScan to post a video while I was out in the field visiting a customer.? She went on to post it, and it was the most liked post in the history of the company, and she encouraged me to keep making videos.? It didn’t take long before I embraced it as an opportunity to tell stories, and I really have learned to enjoy the process.

It's only been a positive in terms of impact.? My personal brand as well as that of Meridian Medical has been raised as a result.? I was shown one of my own posts that was translated into Portuguese, which I thought was cool and humbling.

Looking at the wider ophthalmology space, which areas of research or treatments excite you the most? Where do you see the most innovation?

Glaucoma treatment and management is the fastest growing space in Ophthalmology, and this has been the case for a number of years now.? Particularly, with wake of the recent Laser in Glaucoma and Ocular Hypertension (LiGHT) Trial, that determined that treating a patient with glaucoma with an SLT laser as first line of treatment was superior and more effective than prescribing a drop regimen.?

This shift in in philosophy, referred to as” interventional glaucoma” treatment, will require that every serious eye care professional invest in a quality SLT laser that can meet the rigor demands of increased procedure volume.

From an innovation standpoint, Meridian Medical is developing a new proprietary laser procedure for retina, called selective retina therapy (SRT), that combines OCT and a laser to address patients suffering from diabetic ocular diseases.

If you weren't working in the medical/healthcare space, then what would you be doing?

I’d be doing one of two things.? I’d be involved with football (American) at the college level or somehow working with dogs.

For people who don’t know you, who is David outside of ophthalmology? Where would we find you outside of work? Any interesting hobbies?

My life outside of my work revolves around my wife and daughter.? As far as hobbies go, I love dogs, sports, I work out regularly.? I dig watching historical series on Masterpiece Theatre on PBS.? And most recently launched my product that invention that I patented.?

Huge thanks to David for sharing his insights into his career in ophthalmology and the journey so far with Meridian Medical Lasers. I highly recommend giving him a follow here on LinkedIn to check out the videos that he shares showcasing OR cases and the impact that his products are having for US patients.

And if you want to learn more about the Merilas and MR Q lasers, then drop him a message.