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New contact lens lines widening pool of users
By Martinne GellerNEW YORK, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Contact lens makers are lining up to offer people with dry eyes, astigmatism or bifocals new lines of specialty lenses in what's becoming the latest battleground for lucrative eye care products.
Contacts designed to correct for an astigmatism -- eyes that are oval-shaped instead of round -- are a key growth opportunity, said Donald Casey, head of Johnson & Johnson's <JNJ.N> vision care unit, in a recent interview.
Astigmatism is believed to affect almost 60 million Americans, of whom 7 million wear contact lenses. But only an estimated 2.5 million wear special lenses, called "torics," designed specifically for the eyeball.
"The category is very underdeveloped and we think it could double over the next five years," Casey told Reuters. "It might even do better than that."
This sentiment is shared by rivals Bausch & Lomb Inc. <BOL.N>, Cooper Cos. Inc. <COO.N> and Novartis AG <NOVN.VX>
unit CIBA Vision, who are all shoring up their own specialty offerings.Chris Cooley, an analyst at FTN Midwest Securities, said annual sales growth of the toric market -- which he estimates will reach $900 million in 2008 -- will aid all makers since torics command higher prices. But he said Cooper will likely benefit the most, as it derives a larger share of its revenue from toric lenses.
A three-month supply of new Acuvue Advance for Astigmatism lenses, which J&J launched in April, costs $90 to $95 on average, compared with about $40 for the older Acuvue 2 lens.
"You're seeing a migration away from the old (products) into this new category," Cooley said of the specialty lenses.
The market for multifocal lenses, which free older adults from needing reading glasses in addition to their contacts, is growing 17 percent a year. Cooley expects global annual sales for multifocals to reach $240 million by 2008.
While many brands offer toric lenses, Casey noted that J&J's is the first made of silicone hydrogel -- a material that affords greater comfort as it lets more oxygen reach the eye.
Bausch & Lomb and CIBA Vision are expected to launch a silicone hydrogel toric by the end of this year, a year ahead of Cooper.
J&J should have an edge as the first company to launch a silicone hydrogel toric. But Cooley said it seems to be losing market share gained from the launch to "superior lens designs" in older toric lenses by rival Bausch & Lomb.
"It'll be interesting to see how they all shake out once they get to market," said Cooley, who noted eye-care practitioners still favor Bausch & Lomb's SoftLens 66 Toric, which is the most widely used toric overall.
A J&J spokesman said Acuvue Advance for Astigmatism is the most widely prescribed toric among people who are new to contacts or who have just begun wearing toric lenses.
Only about a quarter of people who need vision correction wear contacts. Usage among young adults is higher, but as middle age beckons, eyes get drier and contacts become less comfortable. Less than 5 percent of people over 40 wear contacts, Casey said.
"The principal unmet consumer need is comfort," Casey said. "If we can convince people that this new lens will address a reason they're not wearing their lenses, we have a chance of increasing contact lens wearing."
J&J launched its Acuvue Oasys high-performance silicone hydrogel in August, and the company is betting it will appeal to older people who stopped wearing contacts due to dryness as well as those who spend long hours on planes or in front of computers.
J&J's vision care unit comprises about 3 percent of the company's total revenue, with 2004 sales of $1.53 billion. Its Acuvue brand owns some 47 percent of the $4.8 billion global contact lens market.
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