The UK's contact lens market has witnessed significant growth in both value and volume during the second quarter of 2010.
According to market research company GfK, the value of the contact lens market in the UK, excluding Northern Ireland, has risen by 5.4 per cent in comparison to the same period in 2009 and has grown 2.4 per cent in volume.
GfK attributes this growth to the success of daily disposable and silicone hydrogel (SiH) lenses which both achieved record sales during the quarter. In that time 106 million daily disposable lenses were sold for a value of £56.2m, with the clear spherical lens segment accounting for 90.3 per cent of sales.
The value gained by retail opticians from SiH lenses grew to £40.1m in the second quarter of 2010 and the material accounted for a record value share in all categories where lenses made from SiH were manufactured. The most noticeable growth was within the weekly/monthly toric category where the value share of SiH rose to 60.3 per cent during the quarter.
? Johnson & Johnson Vision Care's international sales figures for the second quarter of 2010 suggest that the pharmaceutical company was a beneficiary of this growth in the UK market. J&J's international sales in its Vision Care segment grew to $230m in the second quarter of 2010 and increased 8.4 per cent in comparison to the same period in 2009 at constant exchange rates. However, a decline in US sales of 7 per cent meant that that J&J worldwide sales for its Vision Care segment during the quarter remained at $494m, the same figure as 2009.