Alcon to Sponsor Eurovision Song Contest

“Confirmation of the partnership was announced by Jon Ola Sand, the Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest, on behalf of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). "We are delighted that Dailies is renewing their partnership with us again this year. We are very much looking forward to working with them to prepare exciting activities for the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest” Sand says,” according to the Eurovision.tv website post. “’Alcon is proud to partner with the Eurovision song contest which is a perfect event to put in the spotlight our contact lens product: Dailies AquaComfort Plus. Our Dailies contact lenses are recognised for their refreshing comfort throughout the day, so wearers can enjoy every moment of the Eurovision!’ said Per Iver Nielsen, Business Unit Head Vision Care, Alcon Nordics.” Read more.

Alcon Offers Kits for New Dailies Users

If you have patients using Alcon's Dailies AquaComfort Plus contact lenses for the first time, Alcon has a limited supply of kits just for them, according to an item on Eyewire. It contains the following: insertion and removal instructions, rebates and coupons for Alcon OTC products, consumer brochure, carrying case, a kit to carry the material home from your office, and trial lenses. Quantities are reported to be limited, so contact your Alcon rep soon. Read more.

Novartis Considers Selling Alcon

"Novartis ($NVS) is mulling a sale of its contact lens care business as the company faces sluggish growth for its Alcon unit and targets eye care innovation to swing its numbers northward," states a post from Fierce Medical Devices. "The proposed sale is still in early stages and Novartis might decide not to go through with a sale, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. But if the Swiss company does unload the business, which includes products to clean lenses, it could bring in $1.6 billion, Kepler Cheuvreux analyst Fabian Wenner told the news outlet. Some analysts set that number lower, though, with Safra Sarasin analysts saying the sale would fetch no more than $1 billion. A sale would come at a critical moment for Novartis, as it deals with slumping numbers for its contact care business and Alcon unit." Read more.

New Daily Contact Lens for Hyperops from Alcon

"Alcon announced that Dailies Total1 single-use contact lenses will be available in plus powers in November," reports Healio. "The expanded power range will include -0.50 D to -6.00 D in 0.25-D steps, -6.50 D to -10 D in 0.50-D steps and now +0.50 D to +6.00 D in 0.25-D steps, the company announced at a press conference here at the American Academy of Optometry meeting." Read more.

Utah State Attorneys Defend State's Position on UPP of Contact Lenses

"Utah attorneys defending a hotly contested law banning minimum prices for contact lenses argued this week that the state has the right to regulate industry price-fixing even if the products are sold to customers elsewhere," starts the Associated Press post in the San Luis Obispo Tribune. "Any sales by Utah-based retailers are in-state transactions, no matter where the contacts are shipped, the Utah Attorney General's Office said in court documents filed Thursday. State attorneys specifically cite Utah-based 1-800 Contacts, one of the country's largest discount retailers, in their defense of the law.

"Three of the nation's biggest contact-lens manufacturers sued to block the law they say violates interstate commerce rules. Alcon, Johnson & Johnson and Bausch & Lomb argue it was written to help 1-800 Contacts in a bitter pricing war. The three manufacturers sued to block the law and won a temporary injunction, but a federal appeals court allowed the law to go into effect in June.

"The two sides are set to argue before the Denver-based 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in August." Read more.

Alcon Launches Its Hydrogen Peroxide Cleaning Solution in U.S.

Alcon recently launched its U.S.  Clear Care Plus Cleaning & Disinfecting Solution containing HydraGlyde Moisture Matrix technology, for cleaning and disinfecting contact lenses. The Clear Care and Clear Care Plus Cleaning & Disinfecting Solutions contain 3% hydrogen peroxide and are indicated for use with soft (hydrophilic) and rigid gas permeable (RGP) contact lenses. During the disinfection process, the hydrogen peroxide is neutralized in the special lens case provided to leave behind a preservative-free saline solution that is gentle on the eyes. Cleaned and disinfected lenses can be stored in the neutralized solution in the unopened lens case up to seven days. Clear Care and Clear Care Plus require patients to follow special cleaning and disinfecting instructions, including ensuring the lenses remain in the special lens case for at least six hours to allow the hydrogen peroxide to neutralize. Special care is needed to follow directions to avoid accidental misuse. Read more.

Attorneys for State of Utah and Contact Lens Manufacturers Parry in Appeals Court

"Utah state attorneys have asked an appeals court to clear the way for a contentious law that bans price fixing by contact lens makers and could have wide-ranging implications for the $4 billion industry," reports the Standard Examiner. "The Utah Attorney General’s Office argued in court documents that the law banning minimum prices set by the country’s biggest contact lens makers is an antitrust measure designed to increase competition and help customers.State attorneys asked the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver to lift an injunction blocking the law Tuesday. They were joined by the discount retailers Costco and Utah-based 1-800 Contacts. Suing to block the law are lens makers Alcon Laboratories, Johnson & Johnson, and Bausch & Lomb. They say minimum price are good for customers and eye doctors, and the law was written specifically to benefit 1-800 Contacts." Read more.

Readers Make People Look Older, Says Study

One in four adults say reading glasses can make someone look ten years older, says a survey conducted by Jacksonville University, FL. The survey evaluates the effect that readers have on perceived age. Worldwide, nearly 1.7 billion people have presbyopia, and the number could jump to 2.1 billion by 2020.The Age Perception Impact Survey, conducted online and with support from Alcon, examined the perceptions and attitudes of aging among the US population between the ages of 38-54, also known as the Generation X population. It surveyed 1,067 adults who live in the continental United States. In addition, there were 50 interviews, which included sharing pictures of individuals with and without readers and asking interviewees to guess their age and personal attributes. Read more.

Appeals Court Halts Utah's Ban on Unilateral Pricing Policies for Contact Lenses

"A federal appeals court has halted a new Utah law banning price-fixing for contact lenses that could have wide-ranging implications for the industry amid a fight between manufacturers and discount retailers," reports WRAL. "Lens maker Alcon Laboratories cheered the order Thursday. Along with Johnson & Johnson and Bausch & Lomb, the company says the law is an unconstitutional overreach written to benefit Utah-based online discount retailer 1-800 Contacts." Read more.

Louisiana Contact Lens Wearer Sues Manufacturers

"A woman has brought an anti-trust lawsuit against several major optical suppliers, alleging unfair trade practices dating to 2013," reports the Louisiana Record. "Jennifer L. Crose filed a class action complaint against CooperVision Inc. of Pleasanton, Calif.; Alcon Laboratories Inc. of Fort Worth; Bausch and Lomb Inc. of Bridgewater, N.J.; Johnson and Johnson Vision Care Inc. of Jacksonville, Fla.; and ABB/Con-Cise Optical Group LLC (a.k.a. ABB Optical Group) of Coral Springs, Fla., in the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Louisiana on March 31. According to the lawsuit, the defendants engaged in conspiratorial behavior to artificially control the price of contact lenses. Seeking to represent herself and class members who purchased contact lenses sold by the defendants collectively, Crose alleges that the manufacturers, who allegedly control more than 97 percent of the market, sought to fix, raise, maintain and/or stabilize the product prices by imposing price floor policies (PFPs) originating in mid-2013." Read more.

Consumer Reports Blasts CL Pricing Policies -- Again!!!

"Today the manufacturers that account for about 98 percent of all contacts sold in the U.S. are setting minimum retail prices. Who benefits from denying discounts to price-conscious consumers? High-price retailers, including eye doctors who sell contact lenses directly to their patients. And the eye doctors determine which contact lenses to prescribe for each patient. So each manufacturer wants to stay on the doctors’ 'good list.'" That's represents one of many shots across the bows of the major contact lens manufacturers by Consumer Reports. "Without this warped incentive, contact lens manufacturers would likely welcome retail discounting, because more consumers could afford to buy contacts. Manufacturers would still set the wholesale price, so each retail sale, at any price, would provide the same benefit for the manufacturer. That’s how a healthy competitive market should work. Consumers Union fought this battle more than a decade ago. It used to be that eye doctors wouldn’t even give patients the contact lens prescription, making it exceedingly difficult to get contacts anywhere else but at the doctor’s—and at the price the doctor charged. That finally changed in 2003, when Congress passed the Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act, requiring eye doctors to hand over that prescription." Read more.

Utah Bans Unilateral Pricing on Contact Lenses

Utah has become the first state to ban contact lens manufacturers from using Unilateral Pricing Policies (UPP) to set prices for contact lenses. Its legislators signed into law the Contact Lens Consumer Protection Act, according to a press release from 1-800 Contacts. The law will go into effect in May 2015.

UPP programs also are under investigation both by the Federal Trade Commission and by several State Attorneys General. During the past two weeks, attorneys are said to have filed 15 consumer class-action suits against the manufacturers.

Nearly 40 million Americans spend $4.2 billion annually for contact lenses. Johnson & Johnson, Bausch & Lomb, Alcon, and CooperVision began using UPP in 2013. Since then, contact lens wearers reportedly have seen some online prices increase as much as 150%. Read more.

Alcon Asked to Cease Making Superiority Claims for Air Optix Aqua

The National Advertising Division has recommended that Alcon Laboratories, Inc., discontinue certain comparative superiority claims for its Air Optix Aqua Contact Lenses. The recommendation came following a challenge from Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. (JJVC), the maker of Acuvue Oasys, according to a press release from ASRC Review, which along with NAD are administered by the Council of Better Business Bureaus. NAD is an investigative unit of the advertising industry’s system of self-regulation.

The claims at issue in JJVC’s challenge appeared in print advertisements, promotional materials and advertorial emails directed to eye care professionals, online videos directed to professionals and consumers and print advertisements directed at general consumers. They included:

• Air Optix Aqua lenses provide “superior surface deposit resistance.”
• Air Optix Aqua lenses possess “Unique Plasma Surface Technology for Superior Deposit Resistance.”
• “Acuvue OASYS contact lenses attract up to 31x more lipid deposits.”
• “Only Air Optix brand contact lenses have a unique surface technology that’s proven to … resist deposits better than other available two-week or monthly replacement SiHy lens.”
• Air Optix Aqua lenses “Resists Lipids & Deposits.”
• “Superior Surface with Moisture and Consistent Comfort.”

NAD also considered whether the advertising implied that Air Optix Aqua contact lenses offer superior vision and comfort when compared to other brands. At issue in this case was whether Alcon could support claims that its Air Optix Aqua contact lenses were better at resisting deposits of lipids, present in one’s tears, on the surface of the lens and better at resisting the absorption of lipids into the matrix of the lens.

JJVC maintained that the testing on which Alcon based its superior surface deposition-resistance claims did not measure deposits on the contact lens surface and argued that JJVC’s own head-to-head clinical testing showed that Alcon’s “31x claim” was without clinical relevance. JJVC also contended that a “Deposits Card” designed for eye-care professionals, distorted the deposits “encountered with OASYS lens and exaggerates the purported superior surface properties of AOA lenses.”

Alcon asserted that the challenged claims for its AOA contact lenses were truthful and wholly substantiated by reliable studies and data and via multiple reputable scientific authorities and sources. This evidence, Alcon maintained, provides more than a reasonable basis for its claim that AOA has superior lipid deposit resistance compared to OASYS. According to Alcon, having established a reasonable basis for its claims, JJVC has failed in its burden to show either a material flaw in Alcon’s evidence, or more reliable evidence demonstrating a different result.

Following its review of the evidence presented by the advertiser and challenger, NAD determined that Alcon could not support the challenged claims and recommended that the claims at issue be discontinued. NAD noted that the advertiser had voluntarily discontinued distribution of the “Deposits Card,” but recommended the advertiser discontinue distribution of promotional materials containing exaggerated images.

Finally, NAD noted that nothing in its decision precluded Alcon from promoting that its Air Optix Aqua lenses possess “Unique Plasma Surface Technology,” or that Air Optix Aqua lenses “Resists Lipids & Deposits.” Further, NAD noted that nothing in its decision precludes the advertiser from claims – in a stand-alone context – that Air Optix Aqua lenses possess unique plasma surface technology that resists lipids and deposits, offering clear vision and consistent comfort.

Alcon took issue with NAD’s analysis of its evidence but said that despite “these disagreements, Alcon respects the self-regulatory process and will take NAD’s recommendations into account in future promotional materials.”

Alcon Launches Media Campaign for Air Optix Colors

Alcon launched a national television, print, and online media campaign for Air Optix Colors contact lenses. The campaign, directed at women, features 15- and 30-second tv spots on major networks such as NBC, CBS, TNT, TBS, Lifetime, Oxygen and more. A full-page ad will appear in magazines such as Glamour, Seventeen, Nylon, Teen Vogue and OK! In the tv ads, brown-eyed model Sofia changes her eye color to sterling gray with Alcon’s contact lenses. Consumers see her eyes before and after. The ad encourages viewers “to try on” their perfect color at www.AIROPTIXColors.com or by visiting an eye care professional.The company launched the campaign not only to promote its product but to “ensure that patients understand that Air Optix Colors contact lenses are prescription medical devices that require a visit to their eye doctor,” said Lynn Smith, Head of US Marketing for Vision Care at Alcon. Read more.

Three Contact Lens Manufacturers Investigated for Price Fixing

“Moves by three of the four major U.S. contact lens makers to set price floors for many of their products, preventing low-cost retailers from discounting the expensive devices, have drawn scrutiny from lawmakers.,” reports Reuters. “The Senate Judiciary Committee's nine-member antitrust panel will meet on Wednesday to consider the decisions by Alcon, owned by Novartis AG ; Bausch+Lomb, owned by Valeant Pharmaceuticals ; and Johnson & Johnson to put in place minimum sale prices for some of their products. The practice would have been illegal just a decade ago but became legal when the Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that manufacturers can set minimum sale prices in some situations. Lawmakers will seek to determine whether these policies limit competition and lead to higher prices for consumers.” Read more.

Google Develops Smart CLs with Novartis

"Google is developing a smart contact lens, with pharmaceutical giant Novartis, to help patients manage diabetes – in one of a number of moves focused squarely on billions of dollars of potential revenue available across the total digital healthcare market." So starts the Forbes post. "As technology moves further into treatment with remote consultations, monitoring and operations, robotic treatments, and advanced digital diagnosis, Google has seen the opportunity to apply its own eyewear technology (up until now limited as glasses called Google Glass) to the healthcare field." Read more.

"As part of the agreement, Google[x] and Novartis' eye care division Alcon will create smart lenses that feature "non-invasive sensors, microchips and other miniaturized electronics" and focus on two main areas," reports Engadget. "The first will provide a way for diabetic patients to keep on top of their glucose levels by measuring the sugar levels in their tear fluid, feeding the data back to a smartphone or tablet. The second solution aims to help restore the eye's natural focus on near objects, restoring clear vision to those who are only farsighted (presbyopia)." Read more.

Alcon's Air Optix Colors

"Alcon’s new Air Optix Colors received U.S. FDA approval earlier this year and are currently on the market. They are made of silicone hydrogel and feature 3-in-1 embedded color technology, making them highly breathable and smooth for comfortable, all-day wear, according to Alcon," notes Contact Lens Headlines. "New Air Optix Colors are available in a wide range of powers for the correction of myopia and hyperopia. They are also available without vision correcting power, for people with naturally good vision who wish to change their eye color." Read more.

Alcon Launches Toric, Multifocal, Disposable Contact Lenses

“Alcon Laboratories expanded its Dailies AquaComfort Plus portfolio with the launch of toric and multifocal designs,” notes Optometry Times. “Dailies AquaComfort Plus Multifocal uses the Precision Profile Design of Air Optix Aqua Multifocal. Dailies AquaComfort Plus Toric incorporates the dual thin zone Precision Curve Lens Design of Focus Dailies Toric. Both new lenses are made from nelfilcon A, the same material used in Dailies AquaComfort Plus. Powers for Dailies AquaComfort Plus Multifocal range from +6.00 D to -10.00 D in 0.25 D steps with low, medium, and high adds. Diameter is 14.0 mm, and base curve is 8.7 mm.” Read more.

Alcon Reportedly Bribes Doctors in China

"Global eye care giant Alcon has been accused of bribing doctors in China in exchange for using the company's products on patients, reports the Guangzhou-based 21st Century Business Herald," reports WantChinaTimes. "According to an anonymous whistlebower, Alcon bribed eye care specialists under the guise of a post enumeration survey program that provides "research funding" to more than 200 eye hospitals and specialists across China." Read more. Another version of the story appears on the BBC.

Alcon Gathering Data about Eyefile Users

"With an eye toward driving revenue and building long-term customer relationships, Alcon Laboratories called on The Agency Inside Harte-Hanks to transform Eyefile, the brand's free lens trial program, into a robust CRM [customer relationship management] tool packed with customer data that CIBA Vision could use to craft extremely personalized, hyper-targeted messaging based on specific needs and stated preferences," according to a post on Direct Marketing News.

"Currently, Eyefile consolidates information from the dozen or more CIBA Vision and Alcon brand sites into a single digital nerve center, which allows the brands' marketers to stay organized when it comes to collecting and using customer data. Visitors to any associated CIBA Vision Web property are invited to join the Eyefile family." Read more.