CIBA Vision Targets Improving CL Compliance in 2010
March 1, 2010 12:30 AM
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| At a CIBA Vision press briefing during SECO International, Desmond Fonn, OD (l), of the Center for Contact Lens Research at Canada’s University of Waterloo, speaks about contact lens compliance as CIBA’s (l to r) Jan Wagner, Francesco Balestrieri and Rick Weisbarth, OD, look on. |
ATLANTA—Despite last year’s recession, CIBA Vision finished 2009 ahead of the industry in terms of contact-lens sales growth and market-share gains, according to its top executives. This year, the CL manufacturer wants to continue those increases by focusing on the daily- and monthly-wear segments of the market, where CIBA sees the strongest growth potential.
The company will also work with eyecare practitioners to improve CL patient compliance during 2010.
In 2009, despite a slow start for contact lens sales for the entire industry in the first half, CIBA Vision’s growth reached two to three times the industry’s 5 percent sales increase, “and we gained market share,” said Francesco Balestrieri, president, Americas region. In addition, he said the industry saw total CL fits grow by 9.5 percent during last year’s first three quarters, with new fits up 15 percent in the same period.
And a strong CL sales level late in 2009 caused CIBA Vision to increase its projections for 2010. “In August and September, we had a more negative outlook, expecting industry growth of only 2 percent or 3 percent for this year,” Balestrieri told VM. “But now we’re more positive, anticipating growth in the 5 percent to 7 percent range in 2010.
“Looking ahead, we expect to see a stable consumption level for CLs on a quarterly basis throughout 2010,” he added.
CIBA is counting on its new Air Optix Aqua Multifocal CL to help boost sales this year, after testing the lens with 350 ECPs in 2009. Rick Weisbarth, OD, vice president/global head, professional development and partnerships, said 95.5 percent of the ECPs who participated in that test pegged the Air Optix Aqua Multifocal as easy to fit; 70.6 percent said the new CL fit most patients on the first try.
In addition to new products, this year CIBA plans to “develop more tools to help practitioners communicate with patients about compliance,” according to Weisbarth. “We hope to establish a link between compliance and comfort/vision,” he added.
Jan Wagner recently joined CIBA Vision from parent company Novartis as VP, North American marketing, succeeding George Pastrana, who is now CIBA’s VP of customer satisfaction. Wagner stressed that CL compliance “is important for both health and profitability reasons.” She noted that patients wearing daily disposable lenses tend to have a 76 percent compliance rate, compared to 56 percent for monthly-wear CLs and just 26 percent for one- and two-week lenses.
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