Maryland AG Files Antitrust Complaint against Johnson & Johnson Vision Care

“The nation's largest maker of contact lenses is being accused of violating Maryland's antitrust law by conspiring with retailers to set a higher minimum price for their products, Attorney General Brian E. Frosh announced today,” reports Southern Maryland Online. “Attorney General Frosh said that the Office of the Attorney General Antitrust Division has filed a civil complaint charging Florida-based Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Inc., the makers of Acuvue lenses, with violations of the Maryland Antitrust Act. The complaint seeks civil penalties and an end to the anti-competitive pricing policy.” Read more.

Johnson & Johnson Struggles with Vision Care

"Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Inc. is one of Jacksonville’s biggest companies, with about 2,000 local employees and annual sales of nearly $3 billion," notes the Jacksonville Daily Record. "But the Jacksonville-based contact lens maker usually registers just a blip on Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly earnings report. However, when the health products giant reported second-quarter earnings last week, a Johnson & Johnson executive took time to discuss Vision Care’s outlook in great detail after several quarters of declining sales. The company continues to lead the global market with its Acuvue brand of contact lenses, but sales in the second quarter dropped by 8.6 percent to $646 million, continuing a downward trend. That was partly due to currency impacts on international sales, but U.S. sales fell 7.3 percent.

“'It’s no secret that we faced capacity and portfolio issues in Vision Care in 2012 and 2013,' Group Worldwide Chairman Sandi Peterson said in Johnson & Johnson’s conference call with analysts last week. 'At the same time, competition intensified and consumer preferences shifted. The market structure has evolved in response, driving increased emphasis on e-commerce and increased price competition between channels,' she said. Because of the market changes, Johnson & Johnson last fall reset its contact lens pricing 'to bring more value to consumers in close partnership with eye care professionals,' Peterson said." Read more.

Make Your Look Younger? That's the Claim of a new Acuvue Lens

"Between correcting crow's feet, saggy necks, flabby arms and wrinkly hands, the beauty industry seems to have run out of aging body parts to fix. But now, they're invading our eyes. Limbal rings are the slightly darkened circles around our irises that become less defined as we age. So, why should we care? Psychologists say we unconsciously judge how attractive or young someone is based on the size and shade of their limbal rings," begins the Today's Show Health Report. "Contact lens brand Acuvue recently launched a new way to beautify with 'Define' lenses, which aim to enhance the limbal rings. The company has been selling similar cosmetic lenses — in both prescription and non-prescription forms — throughout Asia for about 10 years, but they first became available in North America this fall." Read more.

Oasys, Moist, TruEye to Replace Acuvue Advance, Announces J&J

Effective March 31, 2015, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc., will discontinue Acuvue Advance, Acuvue Advance for Astigmatism, and Acuvue Advance Plus. The company also says that revenue lenses will no longer be available. The company already announced that it will discontinue the diagnostic lenses for the same brands on Aug. 1, 2014. During this period, the company will provide practitioners in-office tools to make the transition to the most current Acuvue products. The company also will alert contact lens wearers via the Acuvue website (www.acuvue.com). The company also will offer a reimbursement fee up to $100 toward patients’ fitting fees when wearers of the discontinued lines are prescribed an annual supply of contacts in the Acuvue Oasys, 1-Day Acuvue Moist, or 1-Day Acuvue TruEye families. Read more.

At the same time, the company said that its Acuvue Oasys brand now comes in a new six-month supply pack (12 lenses per box), replacing the three-month packs as of yesterday. The new packs will be available in all parameters that are currently available in the current three-month and annual packs: Power ranges of 8.4 and 8.8 BC including -0.50D to -6.00 in 0.25D steps, -6.50D to -12.00D in 0.50 steps, +0.50D to +6.00D in 0.25D steps, and +6.50D to +8.00D in 0.50D steps. Read more.

J&J Launches Acuvue Promotion for World Cup

“Contact lens giant Johnson & Johnson Vision Care has launched its largest Acuvue branded promotional campaign to date, as sponsor of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.” So starts the Optometry Today post. “As one of eight official sponsors of the global football tournament which takes place in Brazil this summer, Johnson & Johnson’s campaign has been designed to demonstrate how contact lenses can have a positive impact on peoples’ lives and aid them in reaching their true sporting potential.” Read more.

Oasys for Astigmatism to Come in New Parameters

Optometry Times reports that “Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. announced that effective April 15, 2014, Acuvue Oasys for Astigmatism will be available in more parameters. Parameters are being expanded to include -6.00 D to +6.00 D in 0.25 D steps and from -6.50 D to -9.00 D in 0.50 D steps. With the introduction of these new parameters, the company also announced that effective March 31, 2014, diagnostic lenses for Acuvue Advance for Astigmatism will no longer be available from Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc.” Read more.

Help CL Patients with J&J Kit

The American Optometric Association notes that Johnson & Johnson’s Healthy Vision & Contact Lenses offers helpful “Do’s and Don’ts” for handling and wearing contact lenses and offers some easy-to-follow steps on how to reduce the risk of contact lens-related infection through proper use and care of contact lenses as well as lens-care products such as contact lens cases.

It also includes a section for eye care professionals and/or staff to fill out with patients to reinforce replacement schedules, proper cleaning and disinfecting techniques, and a reminder on when to change their contact lens case. Information about other resources where consumers can find helpful information about proper wear and care is also included.

Healthy Vision & Contact Lenses is available in both PDF and print versions. The PDF copies, which practitioners can customize/personalize to include their contact information can be viewed and downloaded at www.ACUVUEProfessional.com/HVCL. The print versions include 50 tear-sheets on a pad.

Online Company Capitalizing on the Discontinuation of Acuvue

Starting July 1, Acuvue will be discontinuing the Acuvue brand contacts from their product line. The Acuvue brand contact lenses. Some contact wearers have reported that they are upset with the recent changes, and would much rather stay with the soon to be discontinued Acuvue brands. Online contact lens companies are now urging customers to stock up on the brands that are soon to be discontinued. Up until July 1, they will be able to fulfill orders, but after that doors are closing, says a Cleocontactlenses.com spokesperson: "Some customers are even buying an entire year's supply of contact lenses. Seeing orders this large, is definitely unusual but we're not complaining." To capitalize on the hoarding, Clecontactlenses is doing a small promotion to encourage people to stock up on the discontinued lenses. Read more.

Acuvue Launches 2013 1-Day Contest

The Vistakon Division of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc., announced the 2013 celebrity ensemble for this year's "Acuvue 1-Day Contest." Returning to the ensemble are inspirational pop star Demi Lovato and award-winning musician Joe Jonas, while all-star basketball sensation Dwight Howard and breakout television actress Shay Mitchell bring their passions and dreams as celebrity mentors to the contest for the first time. The contest, now in its third year, will give teen winners the chance to meet and be mentored for a day by one of these celebrities. Acuvue’s YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/acuvue) will feature the mentors' own stories that highlight how they found the focus and confidence to reach their own dreams, including how contact lenses played a key role in their success. Read more.

Vistakon Releases 1-Day Acuvue TruEye in U.S.

“Vistakon Division of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Inc. announced that 1-Day Acuvue TruEye brand contact lenses (narafilcon A), a silicone hydrogel daily disposable lens, has been made available to U.S. eye care professionals, according to a company press release,” according to Healio Optometry. “The narafilcon A lenses will phase out the narafilcon B 1-Day Acuvue TruEye lenses that have been available in the U.S. since 2010, according to the release.”  Read more.

Vistakon to Discontinue Some Older Brands

The Vistakon division of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc., will discontinue three of its older brands in 2013. Acuvue brand contact lenses will no longer be available in select base curves and parameters in the United States as of July 1, 2013.  All 9.1 base curves and 8.4 and 8.8 base curves of parameters from -6.50 to -11.0 are being discontinued. Products with 8.4 and 8.8 base curves and parameters ranging from -0.50 to -6.00 will continue to be available. All parameters of Acuvue Brand Contact Lenses Bifocal and Acuvue 2 Colours Brand Contact Lenses will be discontinued as of Dec. 31, 2013. That’s the word from the American Optometric Assn. Read more.

"Healthy Vision" Podcast Lands on AllAboutVision.com

Vistakon, a division of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc., posted its Healthy Vision with Dr. Val Jones podcasts on AllAboutVision.com. The program, supported by Acuvue brand contact lense and hosted Val Jones, M.D., CEO of Better Health, LLC, is said to provide consumers with information and resources to manage their eye health. The series provides information on more than 50 eye conditions and diseases, sections on special-interest topics like computer vision, sports vision, nutrition and eyes, and children’s vision, as well as helpful information on eyeglasses, contact lenses, and surgical procedures that address vision problems. Last year, the site has drawn more than 17 million unique visitors and nearly 30 million page views. Its content is developed with the input of an advisory board of optometrists, ophthalmologists and opticians.  Articles are written and updated by a team of journalists with decades of experience in the eye care field, and reviewed by the advisory board. The Health on the Net Foundation reported has certified the site for trustworthiness. Read more.

Spanish Health Agency Issues Recall of CLs

"The Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products, under the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality, has announced the immediate withdrawal of a batch of Acuvue contact lenses,” according to The Leader. “Lenses affected are from the 1-Day Acuvue Moist (etafilcon A) and Acuvue Advance with Hydraclear (galyfilcon A) type, manufactured by Johnson & Johnson Medical, and they have been withdrawn as there is a possibility of an incomplete seal of the container which could compromise the sterility of the lenses.” Read more.

Acuvue Launches Its "1-Day" Contest

Vistakon Division of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc., revealed the 2012 celebrity ensemble for this year’s “Acuvue 1-DAY Contest.” The roster of celebrity mentors includes inspirational pop star Demi Lovato, musician Joe Jonas, breakout television star Tyler Blackburn, all-American actress Meaghan Martin and world champion sprinter Allyson Felix. The contest, now in its second year, will give five winners the chance to meet and be mentored for a day by one of the five teen icons. The five lucky winners will also receive a second trip to Los Angeles to attend a teen event, and a one-year supply of 1-Day Acuvue Moist Brand Contact Lenses. Read more.

Acuvue Launches New 1-Day CL for Astigmatism

A quarter of a century after revolutionizing the contact lens industry with the introduction of the first disposable soft contact lens, the Vistakon Division of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc., launched its 1-Day Acuvue Moist contact lenses for Astigmatism, a daily disposable soft toric contact lens for individuals with astigmatism. The lens features what the company is calling Blink Stabilized Design, to harness the pressures of a blinking eye to help keep the lens in place and quickly realign the lens if it rotates out of position.

Acuvue and Meaghan Martin Tweet thru Fashion Week

Fashion Week has descended upon New York City and Acuvue Moist CLs will give people the opportunity to "see" it through the eyes of actress Meaghan Martin and to participate in style icon Robert Verdi's annual Luxe Lab Twitter Party, according to the company's press release. Martin will attend multiple fashion shows and events and share them on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EttejNahgaem, beginning on September 7th. Fashion followers are invited to join the conversation on Twitter using #1DAYatFW.  Read more.

J&J's Vistakon Launches "New You" Sweepstakes

Vistakon, Div. of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc., launched its "New You" sweepstakes, attempting to tie in contact lenses, fitness, and beauty. Five first-prize winners will receive an annual supply of J&J's Acuvue contact lenses, and the grand-prize winner will receive a one year membership to a gym of their choice. The sweepstakes runs from January 1, 2011, through February 28, 2011. Consumers can enter to win the "New You" sweepstakes and see official rules at www.eyes4living.com.