Acuvue

Acuvue (from "Accurate view") is a brand of disposable contact lenses made by Jacksonville-based Vistakon, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson (J&J).

Overview

Acuvue lenses got their start at Frontier Contact Lens Company, a small company that started in the 1950s and opened a branch in Jacksonville. Headed by Seymour Marco, an optometrist, the company started to grow and, after a few years, Marco bought out the New York owners so he could significantly grow the business.

During the 1970s, he developed a new material (etafilcon A) and began making soft lenses at Frontier. In 1981 he sold the company to Johnson & Johnson. J&J renamed Frontier Contact Lenses to Vistakon. With the acquisition of a very manual process - every employee on the production line, whether they were lathing, polishing or inspecting, handled the lenses - scaling up the business was very limited, so Vistakon decided to invest into a new production process.

Utilizing Stabilized Soft Molding (SSM) technology, Vistakon undertook a major overhaul in its production processes. As a result Acuvue was introduced to the market in 1986. The lens was originally indicated for seven-day extended wear and later became a daily wear lens. Today, there is a line which ranges from the 1-day wear to two-week lenses such as the Acuvue 2 and Oasys.

Today, all of Vistakon's manufacturing facilities are located in the United States, with the exception of one plant located in Limerick, Republic of Ireland.

Family of Acuvue brands

Daily Disposable Contact Lenses:

• 1-Day Acuvue - hydrogel material (available for astigmatism)
• 1-Day Acuvue Moist - hydrogel material (available for astigmatism and presbyopia)
• 1-Day Acuvue TruEye - first silicone hydrogel daily disposable released 2008 in European Markets and 2010 in North America.
• 1-Day Acuvue Define - hydrogel material (UK release solely in Boots and D&A opticians in 2010)
• 1-Day Acuvue Define Accent - hydrogel material (Far East markets)

Two Week Disposable:

• Acuvue 2 - hydrogel material
• Acuvue Advance - silicone hydrogel material (available for astigmatism)
• Acuvue Oasys - silicone hydrogel material (available for presbyopia in US and astigmatism in most other markets)

Surevue was also produced by Vistakon but not under the Acuvue brand. Surevue contact lenses were a less expensive alternative to Acuvue.

External links

• Acuvue.com (official US website)
• Acuvue.com.au (official AU website)
• Acuvue.co.uk (official UK website)
• JnJVisioncare.com (product guide) - for eye care professionals
• Optix-now.com (independent contact lens guide) - for consumers
• Acuvue.co.in (official India website)
• Acuvuearabia.com (official Middle East website)