EIS – Final Project, Fall 2009
Soft Contact Lens
Seeing a brighter future
Dane Callow
Javier Garcia Teruel
Ziv Gelfer
Brandon Lee
Yoko Warita
Yaron Zimmerman
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Contents
1
Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 3
2
Vision Correction Market ..................................................................................................................... 3
2.1
Eye Glasses ................................................................................................................................... 4
2.2
Contact Lens ................................................................................................................................. 5
2.2.1
Hard contact lens................................................................................................................... 6
2.2.2
Soft Contact Lens .................................................................................................................. 7
2.3
3
Contact Lens Timeline .................................................................................................................. 8
Acuvue ................................................................................................................................................ 10
3.1
Positioning in 1986 ..................................................................................................................... 10
3.2
Value Creation & Value Capture ................................................................................................ 11
3.3
Innovation, Marketing & Supply Chain Strategy ....................................................................... 13
3.3.1
Innovation ........................................................................................................................... 13
3.3.2
Sales & Marketing ............................................................................................................... 14
3.3.3
Manufacturing and Distribution ......................................................................................... 16
3.4
Positioning in 1995 ..................................................................................................................... 17
4
Summary ............................................................................................................................................. 20
5
Contact Lens future and potential ECO systems................................................................................. 21
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1 Introduction
Refractive errors of the eye have existed since the dawn of humanity. Whereas back in the early
days it was not a problem spotting a mammoth even if you were short sighted, in the modern
world there has always been a demand for corrective eye techniques. Wearable eye glasses were
invented in the 13th century and are widely used up to this day. Attempts to develop contact lens
started as early as the 17th century which at that time was more a concept than a plausible
product, most of the original ideas at that time evolved around using sclera lenses. Only in 1949
the first corneal lenses appeared. During the 1960‟s contact lens (PMMA) were widely used for
the first time, however they had many disadvantages. With the development of technology and
materials science during the 80‟s and 90‟s contact lens have started to become a more and more
appealing substitute for glasses. Our analysis focuses mainly on Acuavue – a brand of Johnson &
Jonson which was first introduced in 1986. We start with a general introduction to the vision
correction market and then look more closely at the soft contact lens and disposable contact lens
markets (today all soft lens are also disposable) and finally concentrate on how the technology of
disposable contact lens was introduced to the market by Acuvue.
2 Vision Correction Market
According to a patient population study done in 1994, approximately 146 million people in the
United States required vision correction eyewear; we can assume that this number has increased
in the last 15 years due to the increased aging population versus mortality rates. If you were one
of these 146 million people you had two options available to correct your vision; eyeglasses or
contact lenses. There are additional choices within each of these branches; however, this decision
was the first to confront.
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2.1 Eye Glasses
Eyeglasses are shaped lenses that are placed inside frames that fit onto your face, a short distance
from the eyes, and designed to correct specific vision problems the wearer may have. When
eyeglasses were introduced they were made from quarts and beryl, they were then made from
glass and currently more than 80% are made from various types of lightweight plastic.
Eyeglasses represented a valid vision choice for individuals who cannot afford other options,
have biological aversions to contacts or just enjoy the fashion statement.
Eyeglass lenses are produced from a piece of material with a prefabricated curve on the front
side. The material is shaped like a slightly curved hockey puck and referred to as a “blank”. The
blank is then placed into a machine that will gradually shave off material from the back, until the
curvature of the blank matches the patient‟s prescription. The thickness and contour of the blank
will vary depending on the specific prescription. The degree of the convexity or concavity will
determine the overall optical strength. The lens is then ground, polished and coated in order to
more accurately match the specific prescription. The lens is then placed into a machine in order
to determine where the exact optical center is located. The lens is then beveled and ground
around the periphery in order to match the shape and size of the chosen frame. The goal, once the
lens has been inserted, is to have the optical center fall directly over the user‟s pupil, if done
incorrectly visual distortion can occur. If specific coatings or tints are necessary the lens can be
dipped before they are added to the frame.
The eyeglass production market is very small, as of 2007 the average annual revenue of eyeglass
producers was $6.6mm, with 81% of the market realizing under $1.0mm of revenue a year. The
barriers to entry into the eyeglass production market are very low, and there are very little
proprietary advantages to be had. For example, the optical manufacturing center at Airway
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Heights Correctional Center produces 300 pairs of eyeglasses per day. This is a heavily saturated
market, with very little growth potential.
2.2 Contact Lens
The contact lens is similar to the eyeglass lens in that it was designed to correct the vision of the
wearer; however, this is where the similarities end. A contact is a thin piece of plastic that floats
on a fine layer of tears directly over the wearer‟s cornea. Many people prefer contact lenses over
eyeglasses for a number of reasons, eyeglasses provide poor peripheral vision, they could be
uncomfortable on your face, and can be difficult to wear during activities. Early contact lenses,
produced in the first half of the 1900‟s, were uncomfortable and often involved making a
polymer cast of each users own eyeball, which became a large deterrent. However, the
production process continued to evolve and today customers can choose between three types of
lenses: hard, soft and gas-permeable. The initial forming of contact lenses can be completed
using one of two methods, cutting a blank on a lathe, or through a molding process. Injection
molding consists of injecting molten plastic into a specific mold under pressure. Then the lens is
removed from the mold, cooled and finished on a lathe. Though, it has recently become possible
through highly automated, computer controlled mold production, to produce a consumer ready
lens without the need of a lathe.
The initial forming of the lens can also be done by cutting on a lathe. Similar to eyeglass
production, a blank is needed, however, a contact blank is only slightly larger than the size of the
finished lens. The blank can be shaved from a plastic rod, or stamped from sheet plastic. The
blank is centered on a spinning lathe, and a diamond or a laser cutter, makes concave cuts in the
blank to form the inner curves. The blank is then moved to a separate machine where it is ground
and polished. The polished lens is then mounted on a steel shaft called an arbor. The arbor is
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installed in a lathe, and the outer cuts of the lens are made, ground, and polished. The final
curves to be added to the lens are the peripheral and intermediate anterior and posterior curves,
which determine the edge shape of the lens.
Quality control is very important for contact lenses, since they are medical devices and they must
be custom fit. The lenses are inspected after each stage of the manufacturing process. The lenses
are examined under magnification for anomalies. They are also measured by means of a shadow
graph. A magnified shadow of the lens is cast on a screen imprinted with a graph for measuring
diameter and curvature. Any errors in the lens shape show up in the shadow. This process may
be automatically performed by computer. The lenses are inspected for quality after every stage of
manufacturing. They are then measured and inspected one last time by computer. Once the lens
has passed inspection it is sterilized. The lenses are then packaged along with a saline solution.
Soft contacts are packed dry but will soaks up the saline solution, become soft, pliable and ready
to wear.
2.2.1 Hard contact lens
Modern hard contact lenses, when introduced, represented a huge advantage over the tradition
eyeglasses. They are made from a variant of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), provide clear
vision and have the ability to last up to 10 years. PMMA contact lenses tended to be
uncomfortable because they allowed minimal air passage into the eye. Hard contacts were
originally designed to move slightly during each blink in order to allow more oxygenation to the
eye, however, more blinking was necessary to reach the ideal lubrication.
Although there are still people who choose to wear PMMA contact lenses, most eye care
physicians consider them to be obsolete. One contributor to the retirement of the PMMA lens is
the next generation hard contact lens, the gas permeable lens. Gas Permeable (GP) lenses are a
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newer technology than soft lenses and are made from silicone, which makes them more flexible
than standard hard contacts. The silicone also allows oxygen to pass through the lens, resulting in
a more comfortable fit, and ultimately healthier eyes. GP lenses fitted precisely to the user‟s
cornea and are rigid so have the ability to provide crisper vision because they retain their shape
better than soft contacts do. They are also more durable than soft lenses, which can tear easily.
Since soft contact lenses are made with a different polymer than PMMA they can more easily
soak up liquids, which is great for packaging but may cause eye irritation if they absorb soap,
lotion or other harsh chemicals from your hands when inserting them. In addition, GP contact
lenses can correct a wider range of problems than can soft contact lenses because they can be
individually manufactured.
2.2.2 Soft Contact Lens
Soft contact lenses are called soft because they have the ability to absorb liquids. The water
content of a soft contact lens at full saturation can vary from 37 to 80 percent. This is important
because soft contacts that can attain higher concentration levels can stay in the eye comfortably
longer and are usually marketed as “extended wear” lenses. Soft contact lenses are made of
hydroxyethyl methacrylate (pHEMA) which allows them to soak up water and still retain shape
and optic functions. For many years soft contact lenses were considered a significant innovation
in contact lens technology. Soft contacts are smaller and thinner than hard contacts, and provided
clear vision to the people who found hard contacts too uncomfortable to wear.
Soft contacts don‟t take as long to become comfortable as the new GP lenses, which require an
extended period of time for the eyes to adjust to them. Because of this soft contact lenses also
allow for more flexible wear. A user can easily switch between contacts and eyeglasses without
hindering the adjustment time. Concordantly, a person wearing GP lenses who decides to wear
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prescription eyeglasses for a period of time may lose their acclimatization to the use of the rigid
contact lenses. Therefore, in order for GP users to maintain a stable level of comfort they will
need to use their contacts for an extended period of time, every day. Similar to daily medication
options, some consumers may not appreciate having to take an all or nothing approach to
contacts. But, soft contacts come in disposable varieties, which need zero maintenance, cleaning
or nightly packaging. They are worn, removed and thrown away. The science of lens material is
always being updated by lens manufacturers, and the specific material of any contact lens may
differ depending on the maker.
2.3 Contact Lens Timeline
1986 - Acuvue introduced
1802-1948
1802
1948
1961
1980
1999
1999
Today
Early
Development
Corneal
Lenses
Soft
Lenses
Disposable
Lens
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Early developments of contact lens begun at the 19th century, those lenses were more of a
concept than a plausible product. The first corneal lenses appeared in 1948 but only during the
60‟s soft contact lens were used more broadly. The number of people wearing contact lens
increased from 1.8 million people in 1966 to 7 million in 1977. During the 80‟s there have been
several technological breakthroughs in manufacturing and material technology which improved
significantly the quality of soft lenses. With this improvement, 65-75% of the people wearing
contact lens were estimated to be using soft lens in 1987, from 45% in 1978.
.
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3 Acuvue
The development of Acuvue begun at Frontier Contact Lens Company, a small business that begun in the
50‟s. In 1981 the company was sold to J&J and the name of the company was changed to Vistakon. Using
Stabilized Soft Molding (SSM) technology Vistakon revamped its production practices, and as a result,
Acuvue was launched in 1986.
3.1 Positioning in 1986
The first disposable contact lenses were introduced in 1982 in Denmark by Danalens. However in 1986
there were not many disposable lenses available and the quality of contact lens was not good enough to
impose a real threat to more traditional eye vision correction techniques. However due to technological
advancement (SSM technology) J&J saw a great opportunity in this market and introduced for the first
time the Acuvue brand in 1986 (extended wear – 1 week contact lens).
The main forces influencing Acuvue were:
Entry barrier
- FDA approval needed
Suppliers
- Porous liquid-absorbing
plastic
Competition
Bausch Lamb
Danalens
Pilkington
Customers
- ECPs
- Distributers
- Consumers needing
vision correction
Alternatives
- Eyeglasses
- Hard/soft long term
contact lens
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SWOT analysis
Strength
Opportunity
- New Advanced Technology
- J&J Brand
- New disposable contact lens are attractive
substitute for „permanent‟ contact lens and glasses
- One of first movers to this market
Weakness
Threats
- Not experienced in this market
- New technology, exist for a short time
- Bausch & Lomb
The launch of the soft contact lens in 1986 was the first shot of J&J at disposable contact lens market.
3.2 Value Creation & Value Capture
The convenience of disposability was attracted by patients who experienced heavy deposits on
lens or a dry eye condition with conventional soft lenses. Although eye care professionals
recommended that conventional lenses be cleaned and replaced in the prescribed schedule,
customers often did not comply with the prescription of their eye care professionals. Without the
daily cleaning and the more intensive weekly cleaning of conventional lenses, it could result in
protein deposits on the lenses, and dry and uncomfortable eye condition. However, disposable
lenses ensured comfort, convenience and visual acuity without cleaning. The disable lenses were
particularly appealing to patients who had previously worn contact lenses but stopped.
According to a study of 117 million households who wore eyeglasses in 1994, 13% (15.5
million) were people who had previously experienced contact lenses related illness and switched
from contact lenses to eyeglasses.
The benefits generated by disposable lenses would be
prominent to patients who had previously become discontented with other type of soft lenses.
In additional, J&J‟s “pennies a day” strategy was appealing especially part-time wearers who
wore their soft lenses less than five days per week. Although 1-Day Acuvue‟s annual cost to the
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consumer was way more than that of eyeglasses or conventional contacts, the daily cost of using
1 Day Acuvue was approximately $1.67 per day. The inexpensive daily cost to customers was
particularly appealing to part-time wearers. According to a study of 21 million households who
wore soft lenses, approximately 19% (3.9 million) were part-time wearers.
Customer Cost of Vision Correction Products
Exam
Fitting
Product
Material
Total Annual
Modality
fee
fee
Cost
cost
Expense
Eyeglasses
$50
$37.50
$110-150
n/a
$190.00
n/a
Conventional Contacts
$50
$37.50
$40
$150
$317.50
9 – 18
mos.
Acuvue
$50
$37.50
$4.5
n/a
$551.50
1 week
1 Day Acuvue
$50
$37.50
0.83
n/a
$690.50
Daily
Lastly, the characteristics of Acuvue were creating a unique value to eye care professionals who
would have a significant influence to patients‟ purchasing decision.
Disposable lenses
encouraged patients to visit eye care professional more frequently. Otherwise, the patients did
not return until the lenses were damaged or lost or until there was a health problem. On average,
users of disposable lenses purchased a supply every three months and visited eye care
professional for eye exams and more lenses. Still, compliance to the prescription remained an
issue; however Acuvue, disposal lenses, would promote more frequent patients‟ visit to them.
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3.3 Innovation, Marketing & Supply Chain Strategy
3.3.1 Innovation
The strategy of Vistakon and Acuvue as a brand has been based on innovation and quality in
both products, and processes. From 1989 to 1993 marketing and distribution costs, which
represented 65% to 70% of sales, were halved and Vistakon actively managed costs, however
funding for research and development remained constant at 9% to 10% of sales. In 1981 soft
contact lenses were developed and in most cases were manufactures by hand. Until 1983
Vistakon was a $13 million producer of specialty contact lenses for people with astigmatism, but
with the help of Johnson & Johnson‟s huge human and financial resources, the company secured
a method of manufacturing contact lenses inexpensively, from an ophthalmologist in
Copenhagen. This new method was very reliable and gave Vistakon the capability to
manufacture at a relatively low cost of $0.50 per lens, making a $2.50 price per lens to eye care
professionals feasible. With the improvement of this process, Vistakon was allowed to go from
100,000 contact lenses per day to 1 million, facilitating the national launch of Acuvue, the first
disposable contact lens in 1987. The company kept its emphasis on innovation, customer
research indicated that comfort and convenience were two major drivers of contact lenses
purchases, and as people cannot tolerate a single lens in their eye for long periods of time,
Acuvue introduced a revolutionary concept, “short is better,” and in 1995 launched the daily
disposable lens, and the first disposable prebyopic contact lens. Moreover; in 1998 they began
incorporating ultraviolet protection in its contact lenses, now days all Acuvue offer class 1 or
class 2 UV blocking.
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Innovation in contact lenses technology, as well as continuity in being a low cost producer, has
been a constant in Acuvue‟s strategy. The Oasys sub-brand was introduced fabricated with
second generation gel materials that provided users with more comfort.
The production process has also evolved very much through time; Vistakon manufactures
millions of Acuvue contact lenses daily with a miniaturized and nearly fully automated robotic
technology. Tools like Six Sigma, Predictive Indicator and Design Excellence, became important
elements of the operating culture and essential to the production of quality products.
3.3.2 Sales & Marketing
From the first stages of contact lens development, Vistakon‟s management realized that product
innovation and quality in manufacturing would not be enough to achieve success in the market,
thus the team determined that innovation was also needed in sales and marketing.
During the late 1980‟s and early 1990‟s, Vistakon‟s marketing team designed a strategy in which
the first objective was to drive consumers to eye care professionals through a campaign that
reached directly to consumers. The second step was to sell doctors on Acuvue‟s superiority, so
that they recommended the product to patients, through a sales force of single reps distributed in
137 sales territories. These efforts were complemented by the largest advertisement campaign
the industry had ever seen, emphasizing the advantages of disposable lenses. The final step of the
marketing strategy was to leverage Vistakon‟s information systems to create a marketing system
driven by feedback from customer telephone calls and reply card generated by advertizing and
print media respectively.
1 Day Acuvue contact lenses, which had become their most important product was packed in
boxes of 30 lenses, thus a customer would need two boxes per month. This type of lenses were
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priced premium because the advantages in convenience and commodity provided a superior
product, and customers were willing to pay for it. To support sales, the marketing team decided
to implement promotions and in most cases those promotions were targeted to eye care
professionals that eventually would recommend Acuvue lenses to patients, in addition Vistakon
introduced a shipping method in which lenses were send directly to the customers address, on
behalf of their doctor. The purpose of this delivery system was to minimize the opportunity for
eye care professionals to substitute another brand, and Vistakon gain access to customer
information, which was essential to their customer data and the feedback that drove their R&D
and marketing strategies.
Eye care professionals played a vital role in converting customers to Acuvue, even though they
did not make the final decision of which product the consumer should buy, they provided a
technical recommendation that in most cases was followed by the consumer, and in many
occasions those professionals were in charge of the fitting process. Doctors were key players in
the ecosystem, thus Vistakon put a huge effort in establishing relations with these professionals.
Once a customer contacted Vistakon, a local eye care professional was notified, and the patient
was provided with a free pair of lenses. The main challenge in the relationship with eye care
professionals was that doctors perceived profits on disposable lenses to be lower than that for
conventional ones, therefore Acuvue‟s sales fore worked hard to educate doctors on the value of
retaining customers over time, versus a single visit. In addition early in its business planning,
Vistakon realized that for eye care professionals prompt delivering and accurate ordering taking
were very important, thus they established an 800 telephone number and a reliable and speedy
delivery service. Finally, Vistakon maintains a worldwide network of held care professionals,
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which help them gain customer feedback that is used to new product development and improving
processes.
3.3.3 Manufacturing and Distribution
The pad of a contact lens to the final user starts with Vistakon manufacturing soft lenses with a
polymer such as poly hydroxyethyl methacrylate (pHEMA) that, as was mentioned in previous
sections, has hydrophilic qualities, or in more simple word that can absorb considerable amount
of water and does not lose its shape and optic functions. However the technology for lens
fabrications is constantly evolving and companies like Vistakon are always researching new
materials and processes.
Vistakon distributes contact lenses mainly through three different channels, distributors that
supply eye care professionals, that did not want to buy directly form Vistakon for different
reasons, accounted for around 25% of sales, and retail chain stores like Wal-Mart accounted for
around 28% of sales. Usually these types of stores had optometrists to serve customers and
recommend the appropriate contact lens. Sales in retail stores varied a lot from store to store
because they were influenced by the training and capability of the optometrist available in the
store. For this reason sales reps had the responsibility of covering this sales channel, and
establishing relationships and training programs with eye care professionals that provided service
in this chains. Finally the remaining of sales was done to eye care professionals through direct
sales via Vistakon‟s sales force.
To get a pair of lenses, a consumer would first visit an eye care professional that would provide
them with the prescription describing the vision correction required. The prescription could be
filled by the eye care professional or the patient could explore other distribution channels to get
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the product they needed. However eye care professionals would charge patients for checking
their eye health and prescribing corrective measures, thus filling prescriptions provided and extra
income for physicians. In addition doctors did not have large inventories, therefore established
very good relation with suppliers, like Vistakon, that were able to deliver quality products
promptly, Acuvue contact lenses had a 2 day delivery system.
Finally to secure a strong network of eye care professionals prescribing and providing feedback
on Vistakon products, they created The Vision Care Institute LLC, where they offer training for
students from different optometry schools and colleges around the country, in contact lens
prescribing and fitting for different types of eye conditions, in addition students receive advise
from faculty on positive patient relationships and post-examination practices, plus patient
feedback on their communication style and effectiveness.
With a great structure in their distribution channels, a strong R&D and marketing organizations,
as well as access to economies of scale, and presence in over 70 countries, Acuvue remains the
number one contact lens brand in the world.
3.4 Positioning in 1995
In 1995 when J&J was planning to launch 1-Day Acuvue disposal contact lenses, approximately 146
million people in the United States required corrective lenses. The number of lens wearers was expected
to increase slowly with the aging of the overall U.S population. The total expenditure of corrective lenses
was about $15 billion in 1992, consisting of an estimated $3.5 billion in eye examination fees and $11.5
billion for optical supplies, excluding over-the-counter reading glasses and non-prescriptive sunglasses.
80% of the U.S vision corrected population chose eyeglasses. And, the remaining 20% of the population
wore contact lenses. Eye glasses wearers purchases new spectacles about every 3-5 years and spent $110 $150 on average.
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According to a study of US households, 70% of those who needed vision correction products had never
used contact lenses and 11% were people who had previously used contacts and had discontinued. The
remaining 19% were people who used either soft lens or hard/other lens.
Penetration of Different Vision Correction Products – 1994 (Million, %)
Conventional
soft lens
Disposable
wearers, 16.4,
soft lens
11%
wearers, 4.6,
3%
Spectacles contact lens
dropouts,
15.5, 11%
Hard/Other
lens
wearers, 8,
5%
Spectacles never-ever
wore
contacts,
101.5, 70%
Forces influencing Acuvue
Entry barrier
- FDA approved
Suppliers
- Porous liquid-absorbing
plastic
- Silicone hydro gel
Competition
Bausch Lamb
CibaVision
Customers
- ECPs
- Distributers
- Consumers needing
vision correction
Alternatives
- Eyeglasses
- ‘Permanent’ contact
lens
- Disposable contact lens
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In the early 2000‟s, Vistakon introduced the Acuvue Advance with Hydraclear, which contained
a heydrogel material with a moisture-rich agent. In just four months this lens became the leader
in the U.S. market and second most prescribed overall. Vistakon knew that continued innovation
was necessary to maintain leadership, Acuvue had benefited from first movement advantage, but
with only around 14.8% market share, it was not enough to keep competitors from entering the
market
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4 Summary
By 2003 Johnson & Johnson‟s Vistakon division was the industry leader focusing on the large
price sensitive commodity segment. Other companies, like CIBA Vision led the smaller cosmetic
lenses market, and Cooper Vision dominated the “toric” market for customers with astigmatism.
However there was little confrontation among these players creating a stable balance of power,
which in fact was favorable to Vistakon. Despite that CIBA and Vistakon, both offered products
in each other core markets, the latter, with the financial backup of Johnson &Johnson,
represented a strong threat for CIBA because they were able to held footholds in CIBA‟s core
markets, establishing presence with bifocal products in the multifocal market, which was more
profitable, while preventing CIBA from attacking Vistakon‟s core market.
In 2003 the industry dynamics changed, as another competitor, Bausch & Lomb, entered
multifocal and “toric” soft lens market segments. Cooper Vision was in the most vulnerable
position and in an attempt to recover sales, moved to the cosmetic and commodity segments of
the market by introducing an innovative product that was priced at premium, but offered
improvements in night vision, comfort and dry eyes. The introduction of a new player generated
disruption in the industry balance, and to recover market share, Vistakon increased its presence
in the cosmetic segment.
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The soft contact lens industry has high barriers to entry for small players, but with a huge market
companies are always tempted to explore opportunities, thus constant product and process
innovation, quality, and marketing with strong relations, based on trust, with eye care
professionals have become the foundations of Vistakon‟s leadership.
5 Contact Lens future and potential ECO systems
As the contact lens production market grows and more players enter it is becoming increasingly
difficult to gain competitive advantage. Recently a few different firms are researching potential
relationships in order to introduce lenses with very distinguishable characteristics.
Major contact companies are currently producing multifocal lenses designed for an older
population, but this is only the beginning. Advances in drug and manufacturing technologies
could lead to the availability of drug-dispensing lenses that deliver medication directly into the
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eye itself. This option will be interesting to follow, because it has the potential, if successful, to
eliminate the need for prescription eye drops, the competitive response from pharma and
lubricant companies should be telling. A Virginia based company has been researching the
possibility of combining liquid crystals with contacts to have automatically adjustable distance
focusing and range finding abilities. There is also the potential for corporations to partner with
contact producers in order to increase advertising with non-prescription lenses that the younger
generations, athletes or celebrities could wear.
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Sources
Drug-Dispensing Lens - http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/22680/
Contact Lens Technology - http://clearlycontacts.net/contact-lens-technology.html
Contact Lens Overview - http://www.eyecaresource.com/contact-lenses/overview/
How is an eyeglass lens made - http://www.answers.com/topic/eyeglass-lens
How is an eyeglass lens made http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/230594/production_of_glasses_how_eyeglass_pg2_pg2.html?cat=46
How is a contact lens made - http://www.answers.com/topic/contact-lens
How a contact lens is made - http://www.madehow.com/Volume-2/Contact-Lens.html
Background Information on Contact Lenses - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contact_lens
Harvard Case Study on Acuvue & Vistakon
Hard Vs. Soft Contact Lenses - http://www.docshop.com/education/vision/general-eye/contact-lenses/
Contact Lenses vs. Glasses - http://www.contactlenses.org/clsglasses.htm
GP Contacts vs. Soft Contacts - http://www.contactlenses.org/rgpvsoft.htm
B&L to Consolidate CL Manufacturing http://www.bausch.com/en_US/corporate/corpcomm/news/consolidate_lens_manufacturing.aspx
Eyeglass Metrics - http://www.entrepreneur.com/benchmark/details27.html
LASIK Information - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LASIK
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MIT Sloan Management Review Summer 2004 Vol. 45 No. 4
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Soft Contact Lens – Seeing a brighter future
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