Proclear 1 day launched at BCLA

Coopervision has brought fitting skills into daily disposable contact lenses with the launch of its Proclear 1 day multifocal lens.

The lens, launched at last week’s British Contact Lens Association meeting, is designed to tackle presbyopia and dry eye through innovative lens design in a tried and tested, biocompatible material.

A single lens design uses a form of modified monovision to cater for additional powers up to +2.50. The lens is fitted by maintaining binocularity but using different powers in each eye to achieve near and far vision.

Coopervision said this offered simplicity in terms of lens selection and fitting and offered an option which presented the minimum of disturbance to patients’ vision, shorter appointments and fewer follow-ups.

UK marketing manager Rob Healey said the use of Proclear’s PC Technology material was a definite move to appeal to patients who have enjoyed its comfort for single vision wear and to reassure practitioners who are used to fitting the lens.

He said many users of one-day lenses were beginning to require a multifocal, so offering the design made sense. ‘A lot of people have been wearing contact lenses for 30 years,’ but, he said, opticians tend to offer patients progressive spectacle lenses first as it is easier than suggesting multifocal contact lenses, especially for first-time wearers.

He said there was a massive business opportunity in the 35-50 year-old age group for multifocal contact lenses and the comfort of Proclear could make that easier for practices to realise.

‘We have a big advantage because all of the practitioners know Proclear and we have thousands of wearers so it’s a natural progression,’ he added.

Healey described Proclear as a super-hydrogel, which Coopervision said was for patients and practitioners who did not need or want a silicone hydrogel lens. In the US, the PC Technology used in Proclear is the only material allowed by the FDA to make the claim that it ‘may improve comfort for those who experience dryness of mild discomfort during lens wear’.