NEWS spectrum

B&L Recalls Some MultiPlus

Bausch & Lomb initiated a limited voluntary recall of 12 lots of ReNu MultiPlus lens care solution from distribution centers and retail shelves in the United States and other countries after an investigation of three customer reports of discolored solution. B&L said there were no reports of serious adverse events associated with these lots and believes virtually all of the affected product, manufactured about a year ago at its plant in Greenville, S.C., has already been used by consumers.

The root cause of the discoloration was an elevated level of trace iron in a single batch of raw material sourced from an outside supplier. Iron is an element present at trace levels — measured in parts per billion — in many compounds used in manufacturing food, drug, medical device and cosmetic products. An elevated level of trace iron may result in solution discoloration in some bottles, and the shelf life of the product may be shortened to less than its two-year expiration date due to a potential loss of effectiveness over time.

About 1 million bottles of solution from nine of the 12 lots were originally distributed in the United States. Product from the affected lots was also distributed in Canada, Latin America, Korea and Taiwan, and is also being recalled.

"We are confident we have identified the source of the problem and we are taking appropriate measures designed to avoid a recurrence," said Angela J. Panzarella, vice president and head of Bausch & Lomb’s global vision care business.

CooperVision Launches Daily Disposable

CooperVision has officially introduced its Proclear 1-Day daily disposable contact lenses. Proclear 1-Day is manufactured in omafilcon A material with PC Technology, which CooperVision says keeps the lenses moist and comfortable throughout the day.

The lens features an aspheric optical design that blocks lens aberrations and theoretical corneal aberrations, according to CooperVision. The company also states that the optimized lens design and handling tint allow for easier application and removal and that the patented molded round edge reduces conjunctival interaction for better wearing comfort.

Organizations Consider OD Board Certification

A Joint Board Certification Project Team has formed to explore a board certification process for Doctors of Optometry. The project team members were selected by their respective organizations, which include the American Optometric Association (AOA), the American Academy of Optometry (AAO), the Association of the Regulatory Boards of Optometry (ARBO), the National Board of Examiners in Optometry (NBEO), the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO), and the American Optometric Student Association (ASOA).

The project team’s ultimate goal is a program that would be endorsed by optometric organizations and made available to optometrists who have a need to demonstrate continued and advanced clinical competence. In a joint statement the participating organizations say they’ve chosen to address board certification now because the profession has demonstrated a readiness to consider the issue in a comprehensive and inclusive manner.

The project team anticipates that the program development will take up to 24 months. Optometric organizations not included in the team are also invited to provide input. The end result will be an actual "product" that members can all evaluate and discuss. The team states that this attempt at a board certification process will not be like the unsuccessful American Board of Optometric Practice because this process will involve key optometric organizations working together to create the final product.

CIBA Discusses Industry, O₂Optix

At the recent SECO International meeting in Atlanta in February, CIBA Vision held a media briefing in which it presented marketing data on the contact lens industry as well as an update on the O₂Optix supply constraints and backorders that resulted from the early 2007 partial recall.

The company announced that it has almost completed construction of a manufacturing facility in Johor, Malaysia that will be almost entirely dedicated to producing O₂Optix contact lenses. The company expects supply constraints and backorders into the second quarter with increasing improvements through mid-year. CIBA also stated that its new O₂Optix Custom lens is manufactured on a different platform and is completely unaffected by the partial recall of O₂Optix.

Industry Recap

Among the contact lens industry data presented, CIBA reported that in 2006 the contact lens market grew overall in the United States, Europe and Japan, with silicone hydrogel lenses experiencing the most growth, up as much as 72 percent in the United States. Silicone hydrogels represented 39 percent of contact lens revenues in the United States last year.

Data on contact lens wearers reveals that many patients drop out of lens wear at about age 45, due primarily to presbyopia. In addition, patients tend to be successful with contact lens wear or good candidates for wear when they have moderate to severe vision correction needs. Patients enter contact lens wear mainly for appearance and convenience, followed by discomfort of eyeglasses, better vision and active lifestyle. Although about 66 percent of patient admitted to accidentally napping or sleeping while wearing their lenses at least once per month, more than half of surveyed lens wearers did not want to wear lenses overnight.

The top two reasons why lens wearers drop out continues to be dryness complaints and end-of-day discomfort, followed by eyes getting tired, eyes feeling irritated during lens wear and hazy/blurry vision. Finally, CIBA reported that 73 percent of eyeglass wearers aged 18 to 39 who’ve never worn contact lenses before have also never discussed lens wear with their eyecare practitioners, representing a large potential market for lens wear.

CE Conference Report Released

The Association of the Regulatory Boards of Optometry recently released its report from the National Optometric Continuing Education Conference (NOCEC), which took place from May 13–14, 2006. According to ARBO, the mission of the NOCEC was to develop a profession-wide, consensus-driven approach to the future of continuing education and optometric competence for the benefit of the public.

The final summary reported that attendees showed interest in renewing dialogue involving all stakeholders to reassess continued competence and board certification topics. Attendees also were critical about the efficacy of the current unstructured continuing education system in assuring and maintaining competencies, and they addressed the issues involved with commercial support of continuing education.