Quality of Life Improves with Contact Lenses

"Johnson & Johnson Vision Care presented data at the scientific research symposium of the British Contact Lens Association (BCLA) held during the Netherlands Contact Lens Conference (NCC) that showed 1-Day Acuvue Moist brand contact lenses for Astigmatism (etafilcon A toric soft contact lenses (TCLs)) resulted in significant improvements to quality of life measures compared to its spherical soft contact lens (SCL) counterpart for patients with astigmatism," according to an EyeWire post. Read more.

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.

J&J Introduces New Contact Lens with a Tear-Infused Design

Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc., will launch of a new contact lens with a tear-infused design, called Acuvue Oasys Brand Contact Lenses 1-Day with HydraLuxe Technology. The company notes that contact lens performance declines throughout the day for most wearers. The decline correlates with the number of activities the wearer performs. A full day of activities can lead to eye fatigue or the feeling of tired eyes, according to research. The new lens helps minimize this fatigue, using the following four advances:

• Tear-infused material, complementing the natural tear film with an enhanced network of tear-like molecules, that integrates with contact lens wearers’ own tear film each day
• Electrolyte-balanced packaging solution to mimic human tears
• Enlarged optics to help wearers to see clearly even when their pupils may be enlarged due to low-light
• Increased lens diameter to ensure full corneal limbus coverage during blinking.

Peter Shen, vice president for J&J Vision Care's Worldwide Research & Development, notes that tears provide smooth optical surface, oxygen to the cornea, and lubrication.  He added, "The tear-like molecules in Acuvue Oasys 1-Day with HydraLuxe Technology mimic mucins, which lubricate and moisturize the eye and help support a stable tear film even through our most demanding days.”

Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Expands Facility in Jacksonville

"In a visit to the Jacksonville facility today, [Florida] Gov. Rick Scott announced that Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. will expand its contact lens manufacturing plant, touting the 100 new jobs it would create. The Vistakon plant, a division of Johnson & Johnson Vision plan, will also add a capital investment of $301 million," according to the Jacksonville Business Journal. "The new manufacturing space will include five new production lines, a tank farm to support new product launches, a 3D printing center and a site for medical device laboratory test method development, expanding its capabilities in the biotech and life sciences sector." Read more.

J&J Introduces New Multifocal Contact Lens

Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. has launched its 1-DAY Acuvue Moist brand Multifocal contact lens. It claims to be an industry first, it offering a "uniquely" optimized optic design to address the natural variations in pupil size according to age – and refractive power.

Its 61 distance powers (in quarter diopter steps from +6.00D to -9.00D) and three Add powers equal 183 unique designs for built-in precision.  This precision delivers more consistent performance in a multifocal lens that can help minimize chair time and maximize success delivering a better experience for patients. Its hybrid back curve design helps in two ways: first, the spherical periphery helps ensure centration of the optics over the pupil, and second, the aspheric center closely mimics the natural shape of the cornea to maintain the integrity of the complex front-surface optics, accoroding to the company. For more information, go here.

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.

Utah's Ban on Minimum Priced Contact Lenses Withstands Suit

"A federal judge is refusing to block a Utah law banning minimum prices for contact lens that has drawn the ire of the nation's largest manufacturers," according to an Associated Press story on Fox Business. "In a decision handed down Monday in Salt Lake City, U.S. District Judge Dee Benson said contact-lens makers like Johnson & Johnson and Bausch & Lomb haven't shown that the law is unconstitutional. The manufacturers sued the state last month amid an increasingly bitter fight with discount retailers like 1-800-Contacts. They said the law was written at the behest of the Utah-based discounter and minimum prices help eye doctors make recommendations." Read more.

J&J Vision Care Looks at a $300 Million Expansion

Despite the lawsuits about the unilateral pricing policies, things must be going well for the manufacturers of contact lenses, at least for one. "Johnson & Johnson proposes $300 million, 100-job expansion in Jacksonville," reports the Florida Times-Union. "Johnson & Johnson Vision Care is considering a $300 million expansion to its contact lens plant in Jacksonville that would add an additional 100 jobs. It’s also seeking almost $98 million in city and state tax relief. The jobs would pay an average of $60,000 a year plus $30,000 in benefits and would be filled by end of 2017, according to legislation filed Wednesday afternoon with Jacksonville City Council. The company is asking for $7.1 million in property tax relief from the city over seven years and $90.3 million in state tax credit over 20 years." Read more.

Costco Accuses Johnson & Johnson of Forcing Customers to Pay Higher Prices for Contact Lenses

"Costco Wholesale Corp. has accused Johnson & Johnson’s Vision Care Inc. of causing the retailer’s customers to pay higher prices for the eye company’s contact lenses," reports the Wall Street Journal. "Costco in March filed a complaint against Johnson & Johnson, which revealed the suit late Friday in its quarterly report to the Securities and Exchange Commission." 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.

Alcon, B&L, and J&J Sue Utah Over Contact Lens Bill

"Three leading national contact lens manufacturers are ganging up in federal court to try to prevent enforcement of new amendments to Utah law that they say are aimed at protecting Utah-based 1-800 Contacts at the expense of the U.S. Constitution," reports the Salt Lake Tribune. "Alcon Laboratories Inc., of Fort Worth, Texas; Bausch & Lomb Inc., of Bridgewater, N.J.; and Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Inc., of Jacksonville, Fla., are asking the U.S. District Court in Utah to stop state Attorney General Sean Reyes from enforcing SB169, which was signed last month by Gov. Gary Herbert.
In its lawsuit, Alcon said the passage of SB169 was under "the specter of protectionism" with 1-800 Contacts' officials offering testimony in support of the bill during its legislative passage. Bauch & Lomb, in a separate lawsuit, said the measure was "motivated by a parochial desire to protect a major in-state business at the expense of a targeted class of out-of-state corporations." Read more.

Read more about the Utah ban and potential bands in Idaho, Illinois, and California and similar legislative efforts in New Jersey and Oregon.

New Contact Lenses Brightens Iris

The iris inspired patterns of the 1-Day Acuvue Define with Lacreon heightens the appearance and brightness of eyes, according to its maker, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. The pattern on the CL defines an outline around the limbal ring, amplifying the contrast between the iris and the sclera. The patterns also are said to add depth and dimension without changing the eye's natural coloring. Read more.

Idaho and Utah Legislatures Consider Banning Current Contact Lens Pricing Policies; Law Suit Filed in California

"A company that sells contact lenses online has cleared its first hurdle in persuading the Idaho Legislature to ban manufacturers from cutting off retailers that don't sell their product at a set minimum price," reports the Idaho Statesman. "The Idaho House and Welfare Committee unanimously voted Thursday to send the bill to the House floor for a full vote.

"Online retailer 1-800 Contacts says consumers are paying more under a new pricing policy by the nation's top contact lens makers. Johnson & Johnson, the country's largest lens maker, countered that the pricing strategy has reduced contact lens prices and has made it more convenient to purchase their products. Three of the top four contact lens manufacturers — which make up 90 percent of the market — have implemented some sort of pricing floors, known as 'unilateral pricing policies.' This means retailers and optometry providers will be cut off unless they sell contact lenses at the price the manufacturer sets." Read more.

"Contact lens makers would not be allowed to set the sale price of lenses in Utah under a bill approved Monday by the Utah Senate," according to a Salt Lake Tribune post. "The bill comes in response to an announcement by Johnson & Johnson that the company planned to set a floor on the price that retailers can charge for lenses.

"'There should be some ability for consumers to have a choice,' said Sen. Diedre Henderson, R-Spanish Fork, who noted that China fined Johnson & Johnson over the policy. 'If it's too anti-competitive and too predatory for China, we certainly should not be doing it in the state of Utah.'" Read more.

Law 360 reports that "Johnson & Johnson, Alcon Laboratories Inc. and other contact lens manufacturers were hit with a proposed class action on Tuesday in a California court over industry policies that allegedly create illegal price floors on lenses sold at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and other major retailers. The complaint was brought by three customers who say the use of so-called unilateral pricing policies, or UPPs, by contact lens manufacturers have forced customers to pay artificially high prices for the product." Read more.You also can find more details about the law suit at Courthouse News Service.

1-800 Contacts Starts New Battle in Mississippi

About two weeks ago, 1-800 Contacts asked the stare legislature of Oregon to look into the pricing policies of contact lens suppliers. It's doing the same in Mississippi as reported in the Clarion-Ledger:

A major online seller of contact lenses wants Mississippi to adopt a law to prevent suppliers and manufacturers from setting a minimum price for them.

1-800-Contacts, a supporter of Senate Bill 2016, says Johnson & Johnson Vision Care implemented a new pricing strategy last year that requires a minimum price for some of their contact lenses.

The Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee conducted a public hearing today on the bill, hearing from both 1-800-Contacts officials and officials of Johnson & Johnson.

Johnson & Johnson says the unilateral pricing policies will lead to lower prices for consumers.1-800-Contacts says the pricing strategy is leading to higher prices for consumers that will continue to increase.

Read more.

1-800 Contacts Fights in Oregon for No Minimum Pricing

"An Internet firm that sells contact lenses is trying to persuade Oregon legislators to stop manufacturers from setting a minimum price on their products," reports Oregon Online. "The Internet firm 1-800 Contacts says a new pricing strategy by major contact lens manufacturers is driving up prices to consumers. In recent weeks, the Utah-based firm has distributed $24,000 in political contributions to 19 Oregon legislators as part of a lobbying effort to change the law in about a dozen states and force the manufacturers to reverse course." 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.”

Johnson & Johnson Partners with "X Factor"

"Contact lens giant Johnson & Johnson Vision Care (J&J) partnered with television talent show The [British] X Factor [tv show] to provide the friends and families of those auditioning the opportunity to try contacts lenses from its Acuvue range. Across the programme’s four days of auditions at London’s Wembley SSE Arena, J&J offered one-to-one consultations to interest potential contact lens wearers," according to Optometry Today. "'Everyone who visited the specially established contact lens booth during the auditions was given a free Acuvue trial voucher. The partnership “aimed to encourage young people and contact lens considerers to visit their local practices and become an Acuvue wearer,' J&J explained." 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.