Alcon previews water-gradient contact lens

During a media briefing at the 90th annual SECO International meeting in Atlanta, Erich Bauman, OD, FAAO, Alcon’s program head of vision care R&D, shared information about the company’s new contact lens to launch later this year.

Dailies Total 1 (delefilcon A) combines advanced surface chemistry, new silicone hydrogel lens material, and next-generation LightStream Lens technology to create a new platform of water-gradient contact lenses.

The lens features a gradual transition from 33% water at its core to more than 80% water content at its surface, mimicking the water content of the cornea. It has very high surface lubricity and oxygen transmissibility, both of which provide exceptional comfort lasting all day, said Dr. Bauman.

The lens core has a low water content, high oxygen transmissibility, and a low modulus. The lens surface is an ultrasoft surface gel, which is 6 µm thick.

“Dailies Total 1 offers the properties of silicone hydrogel with a surface containing no silicone,” said Dr. Bauman.

Dailies Total 1 will launch with minus power availability in the U.S. later this year; it has already launched in some European countries and will launch in the U.K. next week.

The company plans to expand water-gradient contact lenses into a full line of lens offerings, including plus powers, toric, and multifocal.