This article was originally published in a sponsored newsletter.

A novel publication from Morgan and colleagues¹ assessed willingness to pay for soft toric lenses compared with spherical contact lenses in patients who have astigmatism. Consumers’ willingness to pay for any product, including contact lenses, can be analyzed by practitioners and manufacturers to better understand barriers to use.

Even when soft toric contact lenses are the best option to improve visual performance in wearers who have astigmatism, they may not be prescribed due to misconceptions such as:

• Extra time is needed for lens fitting or aftercare
• Soft toric lenses are not as comfortable as spherical lenses
• Any enhancement in visual performance does not merit the increased cost of soft toric contact lenses

Morgan and colleagues’ clinical study enrolled 27 participants aged 18 to 45 years who had bilateral refractive astigmatism between −0.75DC and −1.50DC and spherical refractive corrections of −0.50DS to −6.50DS. Participants were required to have no significant ophthalmic history.

Study participants wore pairs of spherical (Biofinity) contact lenses and soft toric (Biofinity toric) contact lenses in a random sequence. Subjective vision, comfort, and visual acuity (high and low contrast, monocular and binocular) were assessed. Participants were then given a series of randomized economic scenarios to determine their willingness to pay a premium price for soft toric contact lenses. A comparable set of scenarios were given online to a larger group of participants to further examine willingness to pay.

While a disparity was reported at distance (though not for intermediate and near vision), the study established clinically meaningful improvement of visual acuity with the Biofinity toric lenses compared with the Biofinity spherical lenses. Comfort was subjectively comparable for the two lens types. Willingness to pay data gathered from study participants and online respondents showed that participants were willing to pay a premium (an additional fee of approximately 50%, in this case) between £13 and £16 for a monthly supply of toric lenses if the toric lenses offered improved vision and similar comfort to spherical lenses.

Standard toric market premiums are lower than the additional 50% premium in this study, so practitioners should bear in mind that toric lenses offer a greater return than clinically anticipated.

REFERENCES

1. Morgan OA, Mizra AB, Parmar KR, et al. Clinical performance and Willingness To Pay for soft toric contact lenses in low and moderate astigmats. Cont Lens Anterior Eye. 2023 Jul;article 101887. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clae.2023.101887.

Melissa Barnett, OD, FAAO, FSLS, is the director of optometry at the University of California, Davis in Davis, specializing in anterior segment disease and specialty contact lenses. She is the past president of the Scleral Lens Education Society. She is an advisor to and/or has received honoraria or travel expenses from AccuLens, Alcon, Allergan, Bausch + Lomb, Bruder, Contamac, CooperVision, Johnson & Johnson Vision, Ocusoft, ScienceBased Health, Shire, Tarsus, and Visus Therapeutics.