CONTACT LENSES TODAY

January 11, 2004

Contact Lenses Today® is edited by Dr. Joseph T. Barr and the staff of Contact Lens Spectrum. This week CLToday® reaches nearly 10,000 readers in 74 countries.

Vision-Related Companies Make it to Fortune Magazine's List
Fortune magazine has unvieled its 2003 list of "The 100 Best Companies to Work For" and a handful of companies from the eyecare industry have made it to that list. Fortune ranked Vision Service Plan at 17 (down one from 2002); Alcon Laboratories at 59 (down from its rank at 40 in 2002); and Merck at 70 (down from its rank of 31 in 2002).

Raheja to Head CIBA R&D
CIBA Vision has hired Manohar K. Raheja, Ph.D., M.B.A., as its Global Head of Lens Research and Development. As such, Dr. Raheja will be responsible for leading the new product development efforts for CIBA's Global Lens Business. The company's new head of R&D previously worked for Bausch & Lomb for 10 years, where he held a number of positions.

Inspire Announces Elestat Plans
Inspire Pharmaceuticals, Inc. recently announced a launch date of February 2, 2004 for its epinastine HCl ophthalmic solution (Elestat), a topical antihistamine with mast cell stabilizing and anti-inflammatory activity developed by Allergan for the relief of ocular allergies. Inspire will promote Elestat in the United States.

Hyper-Dk/t Lenses -- A Higher Standard for Daily, Flexible or Continuous Wear Schedules. A recent practitioner survey of prescribing habits for Focus® Night & Day® lenses showed the following distribution of recommended wearing schedules:

Daily Wear	12%
Daily Wear with Occasional Overnight	15%
One-Week Continuous Wear	32%
Up to 30 Nights Continuously	37%
Other Schedules	4%

Night & Day -- There's Only One Best.™ (http://www.cibavision.com)
--ADVERTISING

Judge Rules in Favor of Allergan Regarding Acular Patent
The United States District Court for the Northern District of California ruled in favor of Allergan, Inc. and Syntex, LLC in their patent infringement suit against Apotex, Inc., Apotex Corp. and Novex Pharma (the "Apotex Defendants"). The judge held that U.S. Patent No. 5,110,493 (the "'493 patent"), which covers Allergan's NSAID ketorolac tromethamine ophthalmic solution 0.5% (Acular), is valid and enforceable against the Apotex Defendants and their attempted generic version of Acular. With this most recent ruling, the Apotex Defendants shouldn't be permitted to market a generic version of Acular until the '493 patent expires in 2009.

BCLA Releases Conference Program
The British Contact Lens Association (BCLA) has launched the program for its 28th Clinical Conference and Exhibition. The three-day conference runs from May 21 to 23, 2004 at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel in Birmingham, UK. Among the highlights of the program are a one-day symposium on presbyopia and a special session on optometric prescribing and refractive surgery. For more information on the Conference program or to register, call +44 (0) 207-580-6661, visit http://www.bcla.org.uk or e-mail vfreeman@bcla.org.uk.

CLES is Almost Here
The Contact Lens and Eyecare Symposium (CLES) is quickly approaching; it's slated for January 21 to 25 at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando. Continuing education classes are available and it's not too late to register. Just call (866) 515-CLES (2537) or visit http://www.cles.info.

Abstract: Investigating the Effect of Artificial Tears on the Visual Performance of CL Wearers
Researchers set out to determine whether artificial tears stabilize the tear film in contact lens wearers and maintained optimal visual performance for a prolonged period. They fit five normal patients who were all in good general and ocular health and who had adapted to contact lens wear with Acuvue lenses. The researchers used a temporal, two-alternative, forced-choice paradigm to measure contrast sensitivity. They presented the stimuli at two different times after blink detection (two seconds after blink detection and four seconds after tear film breakup). They investigated three conditions (without artificial tears and with two types of artificial tears) at four seconds after tear layer breakup. In their results, the researchers found that high spatial frequency contrast sensitivity decreased after tear film breakup and wasn't enhanced by either tear solution.
Ridder WH III, Tomlinson AA. The Effect of Artificial Tears on Visual Performance in Normal Subjects Wearing Contact Lenses. Optometry & Vision Science 2003 Dec;80(12):826-831.

Editor's Commentary: The Joy of Contact Lenses
Gary Gerber, O.D., wrote a column for the February issue of Contact Lens Spectrum that reminded me of the first time I wore contact lenses as a sophomore in high school. Those PMMA lenses were wonderful once I got comfortable with them. When I see a new contact lens wearer's joy or see a keratoconus patient start with GP lenses, I notice how excited they are that their new found vision is better than ever and that they're no longer burdened with spectacles, and it's truly heartworming. This is especially true for teenagers and pre-teenagers. Keep this in mind the next time you see a bespectacled youngster who may be interested in contact lenses. When I was this youngster, my optometrist had taken over my grandfather's practice. His positive attitude helped me have a great first experience with contact lenses.

Fitting Tip: Contact Lens Rx Suggestions From a New O.D.
If our premise is that contact lenses (with corrective power or not) are medically controlled devices that should be controlled, then:

1 - Let's treat them as such. We should write a contact lens prescription for a number of lenses, not just an expiration date. It might go something like this:
OD: Lens Name/8.6/-4.50
OS: Lens Name/8.6/-5.00
Disp: One box (six lenses) for each eye
Sig: Lens to be replaced on a monthly basis
Refills: One for each eye

2 - When a patient uses the prescription, the person filling it would keep the prescription, just as a pharmacy keeps any prescription for medication. It doesn't matter if the prescription is filled for the year's worth of lenses or not. When the prescription is "used up," the patient would need to have the doctor call in another prescription or the patient would need another eye exam. If a patient lost, tore or needed another lens within the year for whatever reason, their doctor could "call one in" for the patient to their source of choice. The patient would retain all rights to fill the prescription online, in your office or at any other place that's licensed to sell contact lenses.

These rules already apply to any other FDA-controlled substance. You can't take your prescription for Valium, get it filled, keep the prescription and have it filled many times from many pharmacies right before the prescription expires so you don't have to go back to the doctor.

If we want the contact lens prescription to be treated as a prescription , then let's do our part to make it that way.

--Cory, Steed, O.D.
Via e-mail

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