Alcon, the global leader in eye care dedicated to helping people see brilliantly, is reaffirming its dedication to innovation by introducing the Alcon Innovator Program, an initiative to partner with influential Eye Care Professionals to identify gaps in contact lens offerings and address the market’s unmet needs. As part of the inaugural program in the U.S., Alcon selected 20 Innovators to receive and offer their patients exclusive access to upcoming Alcon product launches. Through this partnership, Innovators shared both practice and patient insights gained from fitting patients in new Alcon contact lenses, as well as developed social and editorial content that highlighted their experience with the latest innovation.
“Alcon is dedicated to boldly innovating for today’s patient, and therefore, it is essential that we partner with practicing Eye Care Professionals to ensure our product offerings meet the needs of their patients and their practices,” said Kristen Brotherson, U.S. Vision Care General Manager at Alcon. “Together, with the Alcon Innovator Program, we will provide the latest technology and high-quality offerings that continue to make Alcon a leader in eye care, helping patients see brilliantly.”
While the Alcon Innovator Program is a first-of-its-kind program for the organization, it is a natural progression for the organization’s ongoing initiatives that place professional insights at the forefront of its go-to market strategies when launching new products.
Following the initial launch of the program earlier this year, Alcon expanded its network of innovators to Eye Care Professionals who received early access to Alcon’s upcoming contact lens offering before it hits the market. Participants fitted patients that best align with new innovative products and shared patient feedback to inform the company’s market entry plan and in-market brand positioning.
The Alcon Innovator Program aimed to gain patient insights from across the country to understand the most common areas of dissatisfaction for contact lens wearers. Through this collaboration, Alcon uncovered the three key barriers that directly impact a patient’s desired outcome when wearing contact lenses.
- Compliance: Research shows that 66% of 2-week wearers are non-compliant with their replacement schedule, which can impact their overall eye health.1 However, when a patient does not follow the proper replacement schedule, lens functionality decreases. For this reason, it is essential for Eye Care Professionals to consider their patients’ behaviors when recommending a contact lens to ensure that the lens replacement schedule fits seamlessly into their existing routines. 1-2
- Comfort: Patients who are non-compliant with their contact lens replacement schedules are more susceptible to adverse events like contact lens discomfort or even infections.3 However, 57% of patients do not feel confident discussing comfort issues with their eye care providers, placing the responsibility on Eye Care Professionals to ask additional questions that allow them to better evaluate alternative contact lens options that might be more suitable to a patient. 4
- Cost: Nearly 9/10 Eye Care Professionals believe daily disposable SiHy lenses are better overall for their patients*; however, more than 1/2 of new patients are still being fit in reusable lenses due to cost considerations.5
“As we look to the future of the eye care industry, patients are expecting the consumerization of eye care the way they’ve seen in other aspects of their healthcare. To meet this demand, it is essential for industry leaders and optometrists to collaborate to provide patients with the latest advancements in contact lenses and focus on solving their unmet needs,” said Maria Sampalis, OD an inaugural Innovator. “I am proud to partner with Alcon as they continue to develop innovative products that drive toward that goal and put my patients first.”
With a heritage spanning more than 75 years, Alcon has created an unrivaled eye care R&D engine, product pipeline, and production footprint to deliver new solutions that restore or enhance vision, advance clinical practice, and improve the customer and patient experience. In fact, since 2018, Alcon has invested $3.1B in R&D, generating more than 100 active development projects and producing 37 Surgical and 23 Vision Care launches.
To bring these investments to bear, the organization’s partnership with Eye Care Professionals is at the center, where ECPs participate in survey and clinical research and curated consultancy work to guide product development and go-to-market strategies, especially as it relates to contact lens technology.
As the global contact lens market continues to evolve, Alcon remains dedicated to leading innovation in eye care, because we believe when people see brilliantly, they can live brilliantly.
For more information on Alcon and its latest innovations, visit Alcon.com.