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Contact Lens Spectrum

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HISTORY OF CONTACT LENSES

THE BIRTH OF DAILY DISPOSABLE SOFT LENSES

By: PATRICK J. CAROLINE, FAAO, CRAIG W. NORMAN, FCLSA
Contact Lens Spectrum February 1, 2022 Vol 37, Issue February 2022 Page(s): 52

Today, when we think about daily disposable lenses, we think of large companies producing millions of lenses a week. However, the origins of the modality can be credited to just one person—Danish ophthalmologist Michael Bay, MD (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Danish ophthalmologist Michael Bay.Image courtesy of Contact Lens Museum in Forest Grove, OR
Figure 1. Danish ophthalmologist Michael Bay.Image courtesy of Contact Lens Museum in Forest Grove, OR

Overcoming Technology Hurdles

Dr. Bay’s quest for a daily disposable soft lens began in late 1979 when he visited Swedish soft lens manufacturer Klaus Nilsson at Scanlens. Witnessing the excessive time and costs associated with lathe manufacturing, it became clear to Dr. Bay that his dream of daily disposable lenses would need to incorporate a more efficient and cost-effective process: molding technology. He assembled a team consisting of a polymer chemist, an optometrist, and a toolmaker. In early 1980, work began on a new stabilized soft molding system. Dr. Bay had only one condition for his team: They were not allowed to read any books or articles on how others had made soft lenses previously. Rather, they needed to innovate every aspect of the process, from the material to the lens design to the molding production. Within two weeks, his team had successfully molded the first lenses; and within two years, they had a small manufacturing facility in Copenhagen.

In 1982, Dr. Bay established MIA Lens Company, named after himself, his wife Inger, and his daughter Annette. Inger was a dentist and had been head of the Municipal Dentistry Department in Copenhagen, but she now became the chairman of the board for MIA. The first daily disposable lenses were sold in October of that year at Dr. Bay’s clinic under the brand name Danalens (Figure 2).

Figure 2. The original foil pack of the MIA Danalens contact lenses. Image courtesy of Contact Lens Museum in Forest Grove, OR
Figure 2. The original foil pack of the MIA Danalens contact lenses. Image courtesy of Contact Lens Museum in Forest Grove, OR

Expanding Worldwide

The MIA team realized that to take this modality global, it was important to partner with a company that had significant resources. The story here shifts to Jacksonville, FL, and to Johnson & Johnson (JNJ). In 1981, JNJ purchased Jacksonville-based Frontier Contact Lens, which manufactured lathe-cut rigid and soft lenses and was owned by Dr. Allen Isen and Seymour Marco.

The next year, JNJ established its contact lens division Vistakon. Negotiations between MIA and Vistakon began, and in 1983, Vistakon purchased the rights to Danalens and to its Stabilized Soft Lens Molding Technology from MIA.

JNJ invested millions of dollars merging the MIA technology with Frontier’s already FDA-approved material, etafilcon A, and with Frontier’s superb packaging and marketing skills. JNJ introduced the Acuvue Daily Disposable lens into the Florida market in 1987 and across the United States and globally the following year.

A Lasting Legacy

Sadly, Dr. Bay died 20 years later on Sept. 6, 2007. But he gave us a modality that would forever change our contact lens industry and the lives of millions of people throughout the world. CLS

Patrick Caroline is an associate professor of optometry at Pacific University. He is co-curator of the Contact Lens Museum. He is a consultant or advisor to Katt, Inc.

Craig Norman is an adjunct faculty member at the Michigan College of Optometry’s Vision Research Institute. He is co-curator of the Contact Lens Museum. He has received speaking honoraria or consulting fees from ABB Optical Group, Bausch Medical, Contamac, Euclid Systems, GPLI, Lentechs, Oculus USA, and Valley Contax.

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