Take 5 with Max Wolf
Max Wolf, Alcon general manager, vision care and contact lenses
Dispensing Optics editor Nicky Collinson caught up with Alcon’s Max Wolf at the 2023 British Contact Lens Association (BCLA) clinical conference in Manchester to discuss the company’s current and future directions.
Max joined Alcon in 2012 as global director for dailies contact lenses, and is now general manager, vision care and contact lenses. He was instrumental in the 2012 launch of Alcon’s first water gradient contact lenses – Dailies Total1. Earlier this year, this innovative comfort technology was extended across the portfolio with the launch of Total30 for Astigmatism.
Nicky: Alcon has always had a major presence at the BCLA conference. Why is this event so important – and what has been your focus this year?
Max: The BCLA conference continues to be an epicentre for education, connection and technological advancement in the eyecare space. As this year’s platinum sponsor, we upheld this tradition by providing eyecare professionals (ECPs) with knowledge and resources to achieve practice success. This mission came to life at our booth, the Alcon Vision Square, and through our Alcon-sponsored sessions where we shared our latest advancements in the toric lens category, and discussed how our innovations in comfort can grow ECPs’ practices and enhance patient outcomes.
Our focus has always been helping ECPs identify and deliver on unmet patient needs, and our presence at the BCLA conference was a prime example of this. Astigmatic patients have long been silent sufferers of discomfort and dryness. To combat this reality, we set out to educate ECPs about the importance of contact lens comfort and showcase how Alcon can be a partner in delivering patient satisfaction. Alcon has made significant strides in comfort technology through the expansion of our toric lens portfolio.
Nicky: What evidence-based research is driving Alcon’s efforts in the reusable segment – over daily wear – at this time?
Max: As an industry leader, Alcon is continuously identifying opportunities for growth within the market. With still approximately two-thirds of contact lens wearers globally choosing reusable lenses, we see tremendous potential in this category1. Our research indicates that reusable lenses account for an estimated 45 per cent of the US$9bn global contact lens market2. While we remain committed to delivering solutions for daily disposable wearers, we recognise that the reusable lens segment requires modernisation.
Until the launch of Total30 last year, the reusable contact lens segment has not seen meaningful innovation in recent years2. We believe there is a large segment of new and existing lens wearers that desire exceptional comfort of water gradient technology in a reusable lens3. Prompted by this need in the marketplace, we launched Total30 and Total30 for Astigmatism, the first and only reusable water gradient lenses for sphere and toric wearers3,4. As we further innovate in the reusable category, we hope to provide more patients with outstanding comfort.
Nicky: What unique opportunities do toric contact lenses bring to ECPs, and how is Alcon supporting them to harness these?
Max: Businesses thrive on patient satisfaction. For ECPs to achieve positive patient outcomes and, in turn, practice success, prioritising comfort is crucial. Our insights tell us that astigmatic contact lens wearers are more likely to struggle with dryness and discomfort5. And astigmatic contact lens wearers represent a significant portion of the contact lens-wearing population. More than 40 per cent of patients who need vision correction are astigmatic6. However, only 10 per cent of contact lens wearers use toric lenses7.
Our portfolio of toric lenses works to address many patients’ unmet need for comfortable contact lenses, as studies show that comfort plays a critical role in the lens-wearing experience, especially for toric lens wearers5. With our recent launch of Total30 for Astigmatism, we now offer three contact lenses including two daily disposable lenses: Dailies Total1 for Astigmatism and Precision1 for Astigmatism. By providing astigmatic patients with outstanding comfort, ECPs will be able to differentiate themselves from the competition and facilitate practice growth.
Nicky: Where is Alcon currently in terms of bringing a myopia management contact lens to market?
Max: Myopia management is still a nascent and evolving field within eyecare. As a global leader in eyecare, we’ve been actively collaborating with key opinion leaders and advocacy groups to gain a fundamental understanding of the therapeutic landscape. We maintain a high level of interest in exploring new technologies that address the disease with superior efficacy and safety. We continue to explore opportunities that are not only clinically meaningful and differentiated, but opportunities that are market accessible and scalable.
Alcon remains committed to developing innovative products to address the unmet need of myopia progression. Although we are exploring many encouraging possibilities, currently, we have no immediate plans for a commercial launch. We will continue to support our customers and myopia advocacy organisations to help facilitate advancements to better serve patients.
Nicky: Finally, how is Alcon supporting the industry’s sustainability efforts?
Max: We continued to look for ways to advance environmental sustainability. For example, since 2021, through our partnership with Plastic Bank, we’ve offset the plastic we sell in our contact lenses and blisters on Total and Precision8. Notably, Alcon offset its plastic footprint for Dailies Total1 and Precision1 in 2022, which removed more than 600,000kg of plastic, preventing the equivalent of 30 million plastic bottles from contributing to coastal pollution8.
This year, we added Systane eye drops to our Plastic Bank offset programme, which are sold across more than 30 markets, including Australia, Egypt, France, New Zealand and United Arab Emirates. This represents 150,856kg of plastics, equivalent to more than 7.5 million plastic bottles, that will be prevented from reaching the ocean this year8. Looking towards the future, our Dailies Total1 , Total30, Precision1 and Systane programmes are set to achieve plastic neutrality across more than 90 countries globally9.
References
1. Internal estimates.
2. Internal estimates.
3. In a clinical study wherein patients (n=66) used Clear Care solution for nightly cleaning, disinfecting, and storing; Alcon data on file, 2021.
4. Agelini. Viscoelasticity and mesh-size at the surface of hydrogels. ARVO abstract (v1.0).
5. Schnider C. Evaluating monthly replacement contact lens patient satisfaction. Abstract and lecture presented at the American Academy of Optometry Conference 2016, Orlando, FL.
6. Young G, Sulley A, Hunt C. Prevalence of astigmatism in relation to soft contact lens fitting. Eye Contact Lens 2011 Jan;37:20-25.
7. Multi-sponsor Surveys. The 2014 Gallup target market report on the market for toric contact lenses.
8. Alcon data on file, 2023.
9. Internal data (projected use in our Dailies Total1, Dailies Total1 multifocal, Dailies Total1 for Astigmatism, Total30, Total30 for Astigmatism, Precision1 and Precision1 for Astigmatism contact lenses in 2023 worldwide besides the US, Canada and Japan).
Contact lenses are prescription only. Please refer to product instruction for wear, care, and safety information.