What’s New in Contact Lenses - Modern Optometry (2024)

Can you guess how many new contact lenses have made it to the US market in the past year? No? Admittedly, the preceding 12 months have been quite unprecedented, so nobody will fault you for not keeping track of every new lens, device, innovation, and development in the eye care space. That’s why we take the time now and then to collect ourselves, rewind, and provide a roundup of the most recently approved lenses (Table) and news pertaining to contact lenses and lens wear.

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ALCON

In January, Alcon launched the daily disposable Precision1 for Astigmatism lens. According to the company, Precision1 for Astigmatism uses the same Water Gradient Technology as Dailies Total1 and features the Precision Balance 8|4 lens design for a stable lens-wearing experience.^1-3 Precision1 lenses feature Smartsurface Technology, a permanent microthin high performance layer of moisture that steps up from 51% water at the core to greater than 80% water at the outer surface.¹ Alcon says that a single 6-o’clock scribe mark makes fitting the lens easy. Precision1 for Astigmatism is available to eye care professionals with or without fit sets.

With the rise in popularity of daily disposable lenses, especially amid the pandemic, one may wonder about the future of frequent replacement contact lenses. Chandra Mickles, OD, MS, FAAO, FSLS, addresses this issue.

In a related development, Alcon in April received clearance from the FDA for its Total30 monthly replacement Water Gradient contact lens that possesses the Water Gradient feature of the Dailies Total1, adapted with a unique lens chemistry to optimize performance for a full 30 days. The lens has no set date for launch.⁴

BAUSCH + LOMB

In June 2020, Bausch + Lomb received FDA clearance for the Bausch + Lomb Infuse daily disposable silicone hydrogel contact lens, made of kalifilcon A.⁵ The lens, which is engineered with the company’s most advanced proprietary contact lens technologies, is designed to meet the unmet needs of contact lens wearers, including those who experience contact lens dryness, according to the company. If you want to find out how contact lenses affect ocular homeostasis and vice versa, Leslie O’Dell, OD, FAAO, provides an excellent explanation.

Bausch + Lomb in August 2020 announced the US launch of the -2.75 D cylinder parameter offering for its Biotrue ONEday for Astigmatism daily disposable contact lenses.⁶ The -2.75 D cylinder lens will be available for patients with astigmatism in six axes: 10˚, 20˚, 90˚, 160˚, 170˚, and 180˚.

COOPERVISION

Blanchard Contact Lenses, a CooperVision Specialty EyeCare company, announced in October that it had expanded its US product portfolio to include Paragon CRT and Paragon CRT Dual Axis ortho-k lenses.⁷ Both are reverse geometry corneal lenses manufactured in a high-Dk gas-permeable material and are designed for myopia management.

In May, CooperVision introduced a range of expanded parameters for its Biofinity XR toric lenses, from ±10.50 D to ±20.00 D.⁸ This addition of sphere powers nearly doubles the number of available prescription options specific to the lens, according to the company.

In April, the company acquired No7 Contact Lenses, a designer and manufacturer of specialty contact lenses distributed mainly in the United Kingdom. According to CooperVision, the company will operate within the CooperVision Specialty EyeCare group, complementing a portfolio of products used by eye care providers to manage myopia progression, irregular corneas, and other such challenging conditions.⁹

In March, CooperVision announced a partnership with Plastic Bank, a social enterprise that builds ethical recycling ecosystems in coastal communities and reprocesses materials for reintroduction into the global supply chain.¹⁰ For every box of clariti 1 day distributed in the United States, CooperVision funds the collection, processing, and reuse of general plastic waste that is equal to the weight of the plastic contained in clariti 1 day lenses and packaging.

EUCLID SYSTEMS

Euclid Systems in May announced the US launch of its Euclid Max ortho-k lens, which is built on Euclid’s proprietary lens design and features an innovative material with a Hyper Dk of 180, according to the company.¹¹

JOHNSON & JOHNSON VISION

In March, Johnson & Johnson Vision introduced a lens for patients with presbyopia: the Acuvue Oasys Multifocal with Pupil Optimized Design.¹² The lens, which is built on the Acuvue Oasys 2-Week platform, is available in the United States and Canada.

Also in March, the company received approval from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare for Acuvue Theravision with Ketotifen, the first and only vision correction contact lens that also relieves ocular allergic itch symptoms due to allergic conjunctivitis, according to the company.¹³ Ketotifen is an H1 histamine receptor antagonist that prevents itch associated with ocular allergies. In April, Johnson & Johnson Vision received Health Canada approval for these daily disposable lenses.¹⁴

In May, Johnson & Johnson Vision announced that the FDA had approved its Acuvue Abiliti Overnight Therapeutic Lenses for the management of myopia.¹⁵ Abiliti Overnight will be available in the United States by the end of 2021, according to the company, in two contact lens designs: Abiliti Overnight Therapeutic Lenses and Abiliti Overnight Therapeutic Lenses for Astigmatism. Both will be capable of being optimized by innovative fitting software using corneal topography, refractive error, and other measurements.

Additionally, each annual purchase of an Abiliti product will underwrite a free comprehensive eye health exam for a child in need through Sight for Kids, a joint program between Johnson & Johnson Vision and the Lions Clubs International Foundation.

HOLDING STEADY

Despite the many economic and health care challenges we’ve seen over the past 12 months, contact lens manufacturers have been able to forge ahead with the development and approval of innovative new lenses. It’s clear that myopia management and astigmatism are target areas for development by many contact lens companies, and we’re now seeing lenses approved for indications other than merely correcting refractive error. A recent paper by Jones et al considers many potential uses for contact lenses beyond vision correction. In addition to serving as drug delivery devices and disease detectors or sensors, they may be able to provide augmented vision and more.¹⁶

Pharmaceutical companies are also working on products to complement contact lens wear. For example, Azura Ophthalmics in December announced results from a phase 2 trial evaluating its investigational topical therapy, AZR-MD-001, for the treatment of contact lens discomfort.¹⁷ Patients treated with AZR-MD-001 1.0% reported significant improvements in their contact lens comfort as early as month 1.

The contact lens segment of the ophthalmic professions continues to chug along, and there appears to be an endless number of potential new applications for these little medical devices. Like you, I can’t wait to see what the future holds in this category of vision correction.

1. Alcon data on File, 2019.
2. Alcon data on File, 2020 (n=78 eyes).
3. In a randomized, subject-masked, multi-site study with more than 150 patients; significance demonstrated at the 0.05 level; Alcon data on file, 2005.
4. New Alcon data on contact lens, dry eye and ocular health innovations to be presented at #ARVO2021 [press release]. Alcon. May 1, 2021. www.alcon.com/media-release/new-alcon-data-contact-lens-dry-eye-and-ocular-health-innovations-be-presented. Accessed May 13, 2021.
5. FDA provides 510(k) clearance for Bausch + Lomb Infuse daily disposable silicone hydrogel (SiHy daily) contact lenses [press release]. Bausch + Lomb. June 4, 2020. www.bausch.com/our-company/recent-news/artmid/11336/articleid/645/06042020-thursday. Accessed May 21, 2021.
6. Bausch + Lomb launches -2.75 cylinder for Biotrue ONEday for Astigmatism daily disposable contact lenses [press release]. Bausch + Lomb. August 5, 2020. www.bausch.com/our-company/recent-news/artmid/11336/articleid/649/08052020-wednesday. Accessed May 12, 2021.
7. Blanchard Contact Lenses adds Paragon CRT to product portfolio [press release]. CooperVision. October 27, 2020. https://coopervision.com/our-company/news-center/press-release/blanchard-contact-lenses-adds-paragon-crt-product-portfolio. Accessed May 12, 20201.
8. CooperVision doubles prescription options for Biofinity XR toric contact lenses [press release]. CooperVision. May 5, 2021. coopervision.com/our-company/news-center/press-release/coopervision-doubles-prescription-options-biofinity-xr-toric. Accessed May 5, 2021.
9. CooperVision acquires No7 Contact Lenses to expand Specialty EyeCare business. CooperVision [press release]. April 27, 2021. https://coopervision.com/our-company/news-center/press-release/coopervision-acquires-no7-contact-lenses-expand-specialty. Accessed May 13, 2021.
10. CooperVision expands commitment to sustainability; clarity 1 day becomes the first net plastic neutral contact lens in the U.S. CooperVision [press release]. March 15, 2021. https://coopervision.com/our-company/news-center/press-release/coopervision-expands-commitment-sustainability-clariti-1-day. Accessed May 13, 2021.
11. Euclid Systems expands portfolio for proactive myopia management with new Euclid MAX ortho-K lens [press release]. Euclid. May 12, 2021. https://euclidsys.com/article/euclid-systems-expands-portfolio-for-proactive-myopia-management-with-new-euclid-max-ortho-k-lens/. Accessed May 12, 2021.
12. Johnson & Johnson Vision introduces new Acuvue Oasys Multifocal with Pupil Optimized Design and expands the Acuvue Oasys portfolio of offerings for patients with presbyopia [press release]. Johnson & Johnson Vision. March 15, 2021. www.jjvision.com/press-release/johnson-johnson-vision-introduces-new-acuvuer-oasys-multifocal-pupil-optimized-design. Accessed May 5, 2021.
13. Johnson & Johnson Vision receives approval of world’s first and only drug-releasing combination contact lens for vision correction and allergic eye itch: Acuvue Theravision with Ketotifen [press release]. Johnson & Johnson Vision. March 24, 2021. www.jjvision.com/press-release/johnson-johnson-vision-receives-approval-worlds-first-and-only-drug-releasing. Accessed May 5, 2021.
14. Johnson & Johnson Vision receives approval in Canada for world’s first and only drug-releasing contact lens for vision correction and allergic eye itch: Acuvue Theravision with Ketotifen [press release]. Johnson & Johnson Vision. April 27, 2021. www.jjvision.com/press-release/johnson-johnson-vision-receives-approval-canada-worlds-first-and-only-drug-releasing. Accessed May 6, 2021.
15. Johnson & Johnson Vision announces FDA approval of Acuvue Abiliti Overnight Therapeutic Lenses for myopia management [press release]. Johnson and Johnson Vision. May 12, 2021. www.jjvision.com/press-release/johnson-johnson-vision-announces-fda-approval-acuvuer-abilititm-overnight-therapeutic. Accessed May 12, 2021.
16. Jones L, Hui A, Phan CM, et al. CLEAR – contact lens technologies of the future. Cont Lens Anterior Eye. 2021;44(2):398-430.
17. Azura Ophthalmics announces primary endpoints met in topline results from phase 2 trial of the company’s investigational treatment for contact lens discomfort [press release]. Azura Ophthalmics. December 21, 2020. www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201221005085/en/Azura-Ophthalmics-Announces-Primary-Endpoints-Met-in-Topline-Results-from-Phase-2-Trial-of-the-Company’s-Investigational-Treatment-for-Contact-Lens-Discomfort. Accessed May 13, 2021.