 |
|
Contact Lenses – Huge Potential for Market GrowthBy Paddy KamenThere’s a renaissance in the contact lens market, as new designs and materials signal still more growth. The contact lens wearer demographics are changing, thanks to new technological developments. While in the past, older adults would remove themselves from the market, now the new multifocal designs make staying in the contact lens game truly viable. New materials, most notably silicone hydrogel and hioxifilcon, dramatically enhance design innovations by providing a comfort level that creates and sustains a new dimension of loyalty to contact lenses. Optician Drew Jeffries of Parker, Ford and MacKay Opticians in downtown Edmonton has been fitting contact lenses for over 20 years. “The success rate for patients wasn’t that high in the past but now with the new materials and designs I don’t even think twice about recommending contacts. The success rate is now over 85 per cent.” The Comfort/Care Equation Consumers are clearly driven toward comfort and away from care when it comes to contact lenses. CIBA Vision studies reveal that almost one quarter of patients surveyed slept in their contact lenses even though 93 per cent were not wearing lenses approved for that use. Jeffries finds that the drive toward comfort and away from care is the biggest issue he faces as a contact lens fitter. “Patients look for the easiest way out. They want to leave their lenses in as long as possible and clean them as little as possible, so the modality they use is probably the biggest factor in success or failure.” A significant number of patients don’t want to clean their lenses at all or do it improperly, according to Jeffries. “They may drop them into the same old solution over several days or put them into solution without rubbing them. They don’t read the instructions carefully, so if they see ‘no rub’ on a bottle they don’t read the instruction that says a stream of solution should fall on the lens for 10 - 15 seconds. The no rub solutions would work great if they followed the instructions but almost universally they do not. Patients are their own worst enemy, because without proper care, dry eye and allergy problems can develop.” To counter the patient tendency to avoid care, Jeffries uses every return visit as an opportunity to re-instruct. “I make a note of what solution they are using and when they return I ask them how they are using it. This gives me an opportunity to try and build good lens care habits.” Grace Yaremko is another long-time contact lens fitter. The Winnipeg-based optician works at Contact Lens Services and teaches lens fitting at the NAIT campus in Winnipeg. “We find patient compliance to be a challenge, especially as we move a lot of patients to the silicone hydrogel materials. So we stress that they use the right solutions and in the correct manner. We sometimes recommend a surfactant cleaner in addition to a hydrogen peroxide-based disinfecting system.” Yaremko says the silicone hydrogel materials are a big advance, especially for patients who complain about reduced wearing times and overall comfort. “The glitch is that these lenses collect deposits more easily than standard soft lens materials. If the person doesn’t follow the cleaning regime they will become uncomfortable faster and the life of the lens will be considerably shortened.” Lenses made from hioxifilcon are popular with Yaremko. “They work well for patients who have dryness, which is the biggest complaint in contact lens wear.” A Renaissance Tom Roberts, business director of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Canada, says there are more vision corrected consumers interested in contact lenses than ever before. "Our research shows that contact lens consideration is as high as it has ever been in Canada. Through our consumer awareness research, it becomes very evident that the vision corrected consumer is gaining an increased understanding and greater appreciation of the benefits associated with silicone hydrogel lenses. And because the satisfaction level of current wearers is very high, word of mouth has become a strong influence on non-wearers." Roberts compares the current positive climate of acceptance with the late 1980's when disposable contact lenses were first introduced to the market. "That too was a very transformational time," he observes. Johnson & Johnson's ACUVUE® Oasys with HYRACLEAR™ Plus technology brings exceptional comfort to contact lens wearers who may have previously experienced dryness associated with lens wear. "These lenses are perfect for people who work long hours, are behind the computer throughout the day or simply find themselves frequently using rewetting drops," explains Roberts. "This material helps retain the eyes' own moisture and provides significantly more oxygen to the cornea." Furthermore, ACUVUE® OASYS™ lenses offer the highest UV protection of any contact lens on the market – they block approximately 96 per cent of UV-A rays and 99 per cent of UV-B rays." Also from Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, the ACUVUE ADVANCE with Hydraclear offers both crisp vision and all day comfort in a high-oxygen lens specifically designed for astigmatism. Leis Vision works with strategic partners to provide specialty contact lenses to independent eyecare professionals (ECPs). “We work as authorized distributors for several off-shore companies who provide a high level of excellence in the quality of their workmanship and expertise in their areas of specialization,” explains company president Uno Leis. “Some of our specialty lenses are outsourced to companies who make the difficult designs that we require for our clients.” Tinted contacts for blind and damaged eyes are available through Leis,
as is the Also from Leis is a custom design toric lens -- the Ultra Benz Toric Contact Lens -- manufactured from a choice of three Benz Glycerol-based materials in a range of standard parameters and custom designs with diameters ranging from 12.5 mm to 15.5 mm and base curves from 7.6 mm to 9.5 mm. This exciting product has solved many difficult cases, according to Leis. Strategic Lens Innovations Corp. (SLIC) has launched its Solus™ Brand family of contact lenses. The Solus family is comprised of: the Solus 55a, the Solus Platinum FRP, the Solus Platinum Toric, the Solus Platinum Daily Disposable, the Solus Platinum Daily Disposable Toric, the Solus TCL and the Solus Soft K. Philip Lang, President of SLIC, said, “We are excited to introduce the Solus brand family of contact lenses into the Canadian eyecare market. Based on the market research we have conducted, I believe the Solus Brand offers eyecare providers a high-quality, yet economical alternative to meet a growing demand for value-priced contact lenses. Response to the Solus Platinum Daily Disposable, Canada’s only biocompatible daily disposable contact lens, has been very favorable thus far and has led to an earlier than planned rollout of the Solus 55a.” The Solus 55a is made from Methafilcon A with a tangential flat back edge with reducing aspheric front optics. The Solus 55a contact lens offers clear, crisp vision because of its aspheric front surface. The Solus 55a is available in an 8.7 mm base curve, 14.5 mm diameter, sphere power range from +6.00D to –12.0D, UV blocking and a light blue handling tint. “Made from the same material and in the same parameters as the discontinued Choice AB™, the Solus 55a is an ideal substitute for happy Choice AB wearers. In fact, prescribing the Solus 55a for Choice AB wearers should not require a refit,” Lang added. Centennial Optical has introduced a new lens fitting system for Extreme H2O® 54%, from Hydrogel Vision Corporation. Spokesperson Rick Leroux says the system is designed to ensure maximum end-of-day comfort for contact lens patients. “We provide our clients with samples of Extreme H2O 54% in 13.6 and 14.2 mm diameters. The two diameter option allows the ECP to use her expertise and not only provide patients with an outstanding material, but with the right size lens to meet individual needs. The system also includes a PD ruler for accurate measurements. “Hydrogel Vision is the first and only disposable lens manufacturer to offer two diameter options in one product, enabling doctors to put the right size lens on their patients for a perfect fit and ultimate comfort,” explains Leroux. Extreme H2O 54% is made with a third generation GMA Hydrogel copolymer, hioxifilcon D, and contains 54% water. This material has advanced water retention properties along with outstanding durability and strength. This combination makes the Extreme H2O 54% lens ideally suited for patients who are seeking superior all day comfort in a two-week-to-one-month disposable lens. The lens retains 97 per cent of its original water content during wear, and has significantly enhanced durability features over the original Extreme H2O 59% material. Extreme H2O 54% contact lenses are available in a wide range of powers. Two new routes to contact lens comfort are available from AMO. blink™ Lubricating Drops are formulated for patients who spend long hours concentrating in front of a computer monitor or under harsh fluorescent lighting. Also great for frequent fliers and people who work in low humidity environments, blink helps to resolve irritation, burning, stinging or dry eye associated with lens wear. Redness and feelings of gritty or sandy eyes are also addressed by this product, which is designed for soft and RGP contact lenses. blink improves tear break-up time and offers superior lubrication due to its key ingredient Hyaluronate, which has been shown to increase the stability of tear film and promote corneal wound healing. The solution is peroxide-free and preservative-free in the eye, and the essential electrolytes in its composition promote a healthy eye environment. Blink-N-Clean® Lens Drops lubricate and clean while patients are wearing their lenses. This makes it ideal for those who work outdoors or in dusty and dirty environments. Patients who experience dirty, oily or filmy lenses, foreign body sensation and hazy vision will find Blink-N-Clean provides a comfortable and clean lens wearing experience. The key cleaning ingredient in Blink-N-Clean is Tyloxapol, which removes lipids and debris. Another ingredient, Tromethamine, displaces and prevents protein build up, and Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose lubricates, enhances moisture and prevents debris attachment. This solution is ideal for active lens wearers. CIBA Vision spokesperson Laurie Sillay-Lahr is excited about Focus NIGHT & DAY®, the contact lens she wears from the time she jumps out of bed and heads to the gym at 5:30 a.m. to the time she returns from the office well into the evening hours. Paul Hemburrow, CIBA’s director of marketing for Canada agrees that the NIGHT & DAY is a superior contact lens backed up by extensive post-market research. “NIGHT & DAY is one of the most heavily researched lines on the market,” explains Hemburrow. “We followed over 6,000 patients for three years across 19 clinical practices, and were delighted to find a reduction in biomicroscopy signs with NIGHT & DAY compared to low Dk/t lenses. Patients also experienced less dryness, and improvements in signs of corneal health were noted in as little as one week and were maintained throughout the three-year study.” Hemburrow adds that patient satisfaction with the comfort of NIGHT & DAY started out strong and grew even stronger over time. “This product also meets the needs of those patients who are not compliant with care regimes because NIGHT & DAY can be worn continuously for up to 30 nights and then disposed of. Over 50 per cent of Canadian doctors recommend a monthly disposable and Canadians are proving that this is the modality for them.” Last June, Bausch & Lomb expanded their PureVision™ line to include a silicone hydrogel multifocal. "The SofLens multifocal design worked very well for us and as the market shifted it made sense to launch the same design in a silicone hydrogel material," says professional services manager Denise Lougheed. "This is the only such lens on the market in a silicone hydrogel material." Lougheed sees an opportunity for ECPs to bring spectacle wearers on board with contacts as an occasional alternative to eyeglasses. “People are so much more active now and there are times when a contact lens is the perfect vision-correction solution.” She adds that the new material, which is kinder to the dry eyes so often encountered as people age, offers a perfect opportunity for ECPs to bring back to contact lenses patients who may have dropped out due to aging. “The combination of the multifocal design and the silicone hydrogel material, which leads to healthier eyes, is perfect for the over-forty patient.” This new lens is part of the PureVision family of contact lenses, which includes PureVision for spherical correction and PureVision Toric for those with astigmatism. Laboratories Blanchard specializes in custom-made
lenses for the independent optician. “That has been our forte
for the last 30 years,” says president Jean Blanchard. “We
make both gas permeable and soft lenses but in recent years the majority
of our production has been in gas permeable.” The recent appearance of silicone hydrogel blanks on the market is great news for Blanchard. “Up to now, silicone hydrogel was only available in finished product. There is a niche for custom lenses in this material and we’ve been working for the past year with a different generation of contact blanks and are close to finalizing something. Any design can be made out of this material.” Don’t Miss Out Blanchard points out that only very small percentage of the presbyopic
population is wearing contact lenses. “It’s worth the time
and effort for ECPs to understand the new multifocal contact lenses
because they work extremely well. When I’m out socializing and
I tell people about them most are surprised that they exist. And studies
show that if patients were offered it many would chose this option.
There is tremendous potential in this market.” |
