JACKSONVILLE, Fla.— Vistakon, a division of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc., has announced that three Acuvue contact lens brands will be removed from its U.S. product portfolio in 2013. Acuvue Bifocal, Acuvue 2 Colour and select base curves and parameters of Acuvue brand contact lenses will be discontinued at different points throughout the year.

On July 1, 2013, Acuvue brand contact lenses will no longer be available in 9.1 base curves or 8.4 and 8.8 base curves of parameters from -6.50 to -11.0. Products with 8.4 and 8.8 base curves and parameters ranging from -0.50 to -6.00 will continue to be available.

Effective Dec. 31, 2013, all parameters of Acuvue Bifocal and Acuvue 2 Colours will be discontinued.

“Contact lens wearers continue to embrace innovative new materials, technologies, and designs that meet their vision, comfort and lifestyle needs,” said Vistakon president Dave Brown. “Providing patients the best vision correction product experience is a critical factor in helping eyecare professionals serve their patients and grow their practice.”

Vistakon is encouraging eye doctors and eyecare professionals to upgrade patients from older lenses to “more popular and innovative brands” such as Acuvue Oasys, 1-Day Acuvue Moist and 1-Day Acuvue TruEye contact lenses. “These brands are better poised to help make patients happy about the contact lenses they wear, and the doctor who fits them,” Brown said.

According to a survey administered by Vistakon, nine out of 10 doctors believe that their contact lens patients associate their contact lens wear experience with their opinion of them as a doctor and that patients’ product experience is either “extremely” or “very important” to the likelihood of them returning to the office for their next eye exam. Further, 99 percent of optometrists surveyed by Vistakon agree that keeping patients happy leads to practice growth through referrals.