Toric contact lenses have yet to reach their full potential but new daily disposable options being released in the UK this year might equip practitioners with the added technology needed to retain patients and find new ones.
Astigmatic patients are more likely to face issues wearing contact lenses, it was agreed during the launch of the CooperVision MyDay toric at ME London, the Strand.
The company invited 160 practitioners to the showcase, where refreshments, edible bubbles and three CET points were on offer.
CooperVision’s UK head of marketing and professional services, Mark Draper, explained how MyDay toric was distinct from both the competition and existing toric contact lenses within the group’s brand portfolio. This includes the Clariti 1-day toric contact lens inherited through CooperVision’s acquisition of Sauflon in 2014.
While synergies existed following the Sauflon deal, MyDay toric uses a combination of the Optimised Toric Lens Geometry found in the Biofinity toric, and the Smart Silicone chemistry unique to the existing MyDay daily disposable contact lenses.
Draper explained to guests how long chain silicone molecules allowed more space for hydrophilic components to bond and sustain ‘wettability’, without the need for any wetting agent.
Using less raw silicon, MyDay was described as the company’s ‘softest ever silicone hydrogel lens’, with UV protection and 54% water content. It also claimed to have the widest power range of all 1-day toric lenses, available in sphere powers from plano to -6.00D (0.25 steps), -6.50 to -10.00D (0.50 steps) and +0.50 to +6.00D (0.50 steps).
Draper said: ‘We are delighted to now offer all the benefits of our premium MyDay lens to those patients with astigmatism, offering them the same soft, comfortable lens-wearing experience, alongside the lens stability and visual acuity they have come to expect from CooperVision’s toric lenses. With an extensive parameter range, we are confident that eye care professionals will now be able to fit even more of their astigmatic patients.’
Finding the right balance
The launch event in London also featured a guest talk by Aston University professor and researcher Dr Shehzad Naroo, who presented findings from the Contact Lens and Anterior Eye journal.
The independent study ‘Comparison of fitting stability of the different soft toric contact lenses’ compared the lens orientation and rotational recovery of Biofinity toric with similar contact lenses made by Bausch and Lomb, Alcon and Johnson and Johnson Vision Care. It was also compared with CooperVision’s monthly Proclear toric contact lenses.
Dr Naroo said: ‘The best lens was a CooperVision lens [Biofinity toric] and the worst lens was a CooperVision lens [Proclear toric].’
The findings, from 2014, showed the Optimised Toric Lens Geometry used for Biofinity toric reduced lens rotation ahead of other rival toric contact lenses. Biofinity’s prism-ballast toric design had also resulted in better rotational recovery, he said.
Dr Naroo added that toric contact lenses were an underserved market amid overall growth in the contact lens sector. He cited figures to show while the UK optical market grew an overall 3.1% to £3bn last year, contact lenses grew 4.4% to £589m.
‘The contact lens market is not mature so we haven’t yet reached that potential,’ said Dr Naroo.
However, it was also worth noting 11% of customers now bought their contact lenses online and 20% dropped out within the first few months of contact lens wear, rising 30% in the first three years.
‘Dropout is an important part of business and something we can control,’ added Dr Naroo.
He estimated that one third of patients were candidates to wear toric contact lenses, but that the current toric dispense rate was closer to 12%.
Meanwhile, CooperVision predicts 58% of contact lenses will be daily disposable silicone hydrogel by next year.
‘This is the segment patients and practitioners are buying into more and more,’ added Dr Naroo.
Speaking on the sidelines of the launch, Draper added the lens was the same design as Biofinity toric but transcended into the daily disposable market.
‘Uncorrected astigmatism is a big factor in dropout,’ Draper told Optician. ‘There is a big opportunity here because there weren’t so many options [of toric CLs] a few years ago. It’s also about understanding what patients want and that is daily disposables.’
CooperVision is also launching Avaira Vitality toric next month, while its MiSight 1 Day contact lens to help reduce the progression of myopia in children was also ‘coming soon’, the company told its practitioner guests.
Orders for the MyDay toric range would be supported with fitting banks, a toric wheel, Opti Expert app and Contact Lens Coach website created by CooperVision.
Draper added: ‘Your patient will have a better impression of you as a practitioner if you are keeping them updated and informed on products that might better meet their needs.’