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SINGAPORE, May 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The quality and safety of many of the most popular brands of colored and limbal ring contact lenses sold in Japan and Asia Pacific have been called into question by The National Consumer Affairs Center (NCAC) of Japan in a report just issued. Johnson & Johnson Vision Care is pleased with the findings that attest to the quality and safety of its 1-DAY ACUVUE® DEFINE™ and ACUVUE® 2 DEFINE®.
In fact, the report entitled "Safety of Color Contact Lenses" highlighted that 1-DAY ACUVUE® DEFINE™ Brand Contact Lens and ACUVUE® 2 DEFINE® Brand Contact Lenses had no color pigment on the surface of its lenses. The report stated that some manufacturers inaccurately claim "no pigment on the surface" of their lenses when in fact they do. The report also stated that where and how these pigments are embedded has been a key source of claims from various manufacturers.
Johnson & Johnson Vision Care's 1-DAY ACUVUE® DEFINE™ and ACUVUE® 2 DEFINE® contact lenses are designed and manufactured to the same high safety and performance standards as used across its entire clear contact lens range. The proprietary BEAUTY WRAPPED IN COMFORT™ Technology protects eye health as the colorants are embedded between two thin, transparent layers of lens material and prevents the pigment from reaching the surface.
The 57-page NCAC report co-sponsored by the Japan Ophthalmological Association (JOA) and the Japan Contact Lens Society (JCLS) focused on two areas primarily: product attributes and side effects. Issues raised by the NCAC report ranged from lenses being out of specification for base curve or diameter; lenses being too thick and potentially affecting oxygen transmissibility to pigment found on the surface of lenses; and side effects like corneal swelling. In the report, 1-DAY ACUVUE® DEFINE™ is the "one brand" referred to when it stated: "Except for 1 brand, eye complications (corneal edema, corneal staining, or conjunctival staining), which require medical treatment or contact lens wear suspension (Efron grade 3, 4), were observed."
It concluded with four "demands" to manufacturers to improve their products and services by: 1. meeting their product specifications; 2. improving contact lens design for such things as pigment on the surface of the lens; 3. avoiding misleading, difficult to understand advertising and 4. making patient literature available. Johnson & Johnson Vision Care is confident that it already meets these demands.
The NCAC said the report had been sent to the Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW).
The report advises consumers to visit their eye care professional for regular eye exams and to consult on their correct usage and choice of colored contact lenses. As a leading healthcare company, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care will continue its efforts to encourage consumers to go see their eye doctors for regular eye exams and educate them about safe usage of contact lenses.
Kathy Park, Area Vice President Asia Pacific, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care said, "Patient safety is our top priority and consumers and eye care professionals must feel confident in the contact lenses that they prescribe or wear on a daily basis."
"We have built rigorous quality checks into our processes to produce contact lenses that meet carefully controlled standards before leaving our manufacturing facilities. We trust this report will assure consumers that they can feel very confident when they, or their eye care professional, continue or choose to use our 1-DAY ACUVUE® DEFINE™."
