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Contact lens experts outline potential for growth in market
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NEW YORK – A panel of practitioners told attendees here at the Global Contact Lens Forum that the contact lens prescribing rate is considered low in the U.S., but a number of factors could contribute to its growth.
Scot Morris, OD, FAAO, ABO, reported at the Vision Expo East forum that of a U.S. population of 314 million, 94 million are myopic and 31 million are hyperopic. Of those patients, 38 million are wearing myopic contact lenses and 6 million are wearing hyperopic contact lenses.
He added that 25% of the U.S. population, or 78.5 million people, are uncorrected.
“As an industry, are we doing well?” Morris asked. “It’s estimated that we’re fitting 11% of the U.S. population in contact lenses.”
He said that, at this rate, the contact lens revenue in the U.S. is $21 billion.
Typical objections to contact lens wear include patient misinformation, ocular dryness, cost and managed care issues, Morris said.
“Go back to your office on Monday and do something different to start changing the numbers,” he said. “You could double your contact lens revenue, but it would also change the lives of people, helping them see clearly.”
Clarke D. Newman, OD, FAAO, focused on opportunities for growth in gas-permeable contact lenses.
Use of GP lenses varies greatly from country to country, Newman said. While the corneal GP lens market is declining rapidly, the use of scleral GPs has gone up, he said, with the potential for further growth. He attributed a portion of this to scleral GPs being used in myopia control.
“Controlling myopia will have medical indications down the road,” Newman said. “We haven’t considered what myopic retinopathy is doing to people. Myopia control will drive the market in the future.”
Other concepts influencing the future of GP prescribing include scleral lenses for ectasia and irregular corneas and orthokeratology.
“But there’s not a whole lot of ortho-K going on right now for vision correction,” Newman said. “That’s an untapped market. Primarily, in my practice, it’s become almost exclusively myopia control.
“The last Baby Boomers are presbyopic,” he continued. “This is another huge untapped market. We think of sclerals in terms of sick people, but they are a great lens for people who play sports and want to wear multifocals. And the ability to have a toric, multifocal scleral lens and have it remain stable is awesome. Hybrids will add to this.”
Rob Davis, OD, FAAO, discussed opportunities in custom lenses.
“Customization is any contact lens parameter outside the limits of a disposable lens,” Davis explained. “Customized lenses can also be made out of any parameter within the limits of a disposable lens.
“The sweet spot for disposable lenses is between 11.6 mm and 12.0 mm sagittal height,” he continued. “Anything outside this parameter has to be made custom.”
Custom lenses can address stability issues and inadequacies in optics of soft lenses, he added.
“Customization has worked beautifully for corneal ectasia,” Davis said. “We’re improving the quality of life of these patients. They can’t function without their lenses.” – by Nancy Hemphill, ELS, FAAO
Disclosures: Davis is a consultant, lecturer or conducts research for or has a financial interest in Alden, EyeVis, Fusion, SpecialEyes and SynergEyes. Morris is a consultant, lecturer or conducts research for or has a financial interest in Alcon, Allergan, Bausch + Lomb and ComSquared Technologies. Newman is a paid consultant for Alcon, Allergan, AMO and Bausch + Lomb. He has done clinical research for Alcon and is on the board for the Gas Permeable Contact Lens Institute.