Johnson and Johnson has introduced a daily wear, monthly replacement silicone Hydrogel contact lens which it said could relieve the silent suffering of wearers using the modality.
Acuvue Vita is made from senofilocon C and uses HydraMax, a technology, the company claims, harnesses the natural benefits of lipids within tears. This stabilises evaporation rates across the weeks maintaining comfort throughout the month. The firm doesn’t currently have a lens in the monthy sector.
Around 32% of contact lens wearers use a monthly replacement lens but Brand manager, Francesco Salvo di Pietraganzili, said the reusable sector constituted the highest proportion of drop outs. Around 123,000 new wearers to this modality will be attracted every year but 202,000 will leave the category.
The lens has the usual Acuvue UV blocker and an inside out mark. The lens has a base curve of 8.4mm and a diameter of 14mm and is available in single vision powers from -12.00 to +8.00D.
One of the major reasons for drop out was comfort. Its research showed that comfort in most monthly lenses dropped throughout the month but Vita’s material allows it to maintain comfort satisfaction levels of 75% in week one, to 69% in week four. It said other monthly lenses started with levels around 70% that dropped to 50% by the month end.
Of that 50% of silent sufferers, 84% will alleviate symptoms by using drops or changing wear times, 82% will be frustrated and annoyed by the experience, but 73% don’t plan to tell their practitioner.
Wearers continue to want this lower cost modality, said di Pietraganzili, and J&J had a duty of care top offer a lens which allowed them to continue wear.