CooperVision today introduced PC Hydrogels, a unique category of contact lens material for daily wear that offers excellent health and optimum comfort. Compared with competing silicone hydrogel lenses, including Acuvue(R) Advance(TM) and O2Optix(TM)1, clinical studies show that daily-wear patients prefer the comfort of the PC Hydrogel(TM) material. PC Hydrogel lenses are available in five lens designs, including Proclear(R) Sphere, Proclear(R) Toric, Proclear(R) Multifocal, UltraVue(TM) PC Multifocals, and the new Biomedics(R) XC contact lenses to fit a wide range of patient prescriptions.
CooperVision is introducing its PC Hydrogel category of contact lenses in order to help eye care practitioners offer their patients more comfortable daily lens wear. Research conducted by CooperVision indicates that eye care practitioners view comfort as critical criteria for successful daily wear in their practice. In a recent survey of 370 U.S. eye care practitioners, over 70 percent of respondents felt that Proclear provided better comfort than today's silicone hydrogel lenses.
"CooperVision is committed to the PC Hydrogel category because we believe that eye care practitioners should be able to offer their daily-wear patients healthy contact lenses that provide better comfort," said Tom Shone, senior vice president of strategic marketing, CooperVision. "The definition of 'health' as it relates to daily wear requires a better balance of oxygen and comfort than is offered by the existing generation of silicone hydrogel lenses."
All contact lenses in the PC Hydrogel category exceed the minimum acceptable oxygen necessary for safe daily wear. Manufactured with CooperVision-patented phosphorylcholine (PC) technology, the PC Hydrogel omafilcon A material has high water affinity, creating a shield of water on the lens surface that prevents deposits from adhering to it and allows the lens to resist dehydration. These combined qualities result in a more comfortable lens wearing experience for the patient. In addition, the soft, low modulus of PC Hydrogel contact lenses further contributes to better comfort and fit across the family of products.
Biomedics(R) XC
Biomedics XC is the latest addition to the PC Hydrogel family of products and is the first PC Hydrogel lens to be offered in a two-week modality, the most popular spherical lens modality in the United States (source: HPR). Biomedics XC lenses are designed with aspheric optics that provide exceptional visual acuity. The low modulus, excellent deposit resistance, and on-eye wettability provides extended comfort for daily-wear patients, making Biomedics XC a more comfortable option for two-week lens wear. Biomedics XC will be available from CooperVision and its authorized distributors beginning in mid-January 2006.
Proclear(R) and UltraVue(TM)
Proclear Sphere, Proclear Toric, Proclear Multifocal, and UltraVue PC Multifocals contact lenses round out the PC Hydrogel category. Proclear Multifocal and UltraVue PC Multifocals contact lenses combine the best of two contact lens technologies-PC Hydrogel material and CooperVision Balanced Progressive(TM) Technology-to create premium soft multifocal lenses that provide exceptional all-day comfort, optimal visual acuity, and the flexibility to fit virtually all presbyopic patients.
CooperVision is also expanding its range of PC Hydrogel product offerings in the toric category. CooperVision will introduce a new Proclear Toric lens with a steeper 8.4mm base curve in February 2006. In addition, UltraVue PC Multifocal Toric contact lenses were introduced in November 2005, providing the benefits of PC Hydrogel material to astigmatic presbyopes.
"CooperVision will remain committed to the PC Hydrogel category in the coming years," said Shone. "Our research indicates that comfort is the highest priority to the eye care practitioner for creating a successful patient wearing experience, and a PC Hydrogel product is most often chosen to address lens dryness or discomfort.
"The introduction of Biomedics XC and CooperVision silicone hydrogel technology, which has recently been cleared for daily wear by the FDA in the U.S., provides a robust product pipeline that is focused on providing patients with a more comfortable contact lens wearing experience. Each product has its own series of unique benefits, and the sum of the two allows CooperVision to provide eye care practitioners with a better range of products to address unmet patient needs," he added.
About CooperVision
CooperVision is one of the world's leading and fastest-growing manufacturers of contact lenses, currently the third-largest manufacturer in the United States and worldwide. CooperVision is considered the world's leading producer of premium-quality toric lenses for people with astigmatism. In addition, CooperVision manufactures lenses for people with spherical and presbyopic conditions and opaque lenses for patients who want to change the appearance of their eye color.

Source: prnewswire