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Keratoconus lens set to achieve worldwide sales

Optical World, March 1998

Worldwide sales of a New Zealand designed contact lens are expected to exceed $4 million this year.  This follows a joint venture with Boston based Bausch and Lomb.

The lens invented by Hamilton optometrist Paul Rose is designed to help those who suffer from keratoconus.  Mr Rose said the joint venture with his company Rose K International, will open up major new markets for the lens, known as the "Rose K', which will be manufactured from Bausch and Lomb's latest unique gas permeable material.  It is already sold in 14 countries including Russia, Chile and Korea, and is manufactured in New Zealand, Australia, the United States and in Britain.

Mr Rose began work on the lens 11 years ago after being frustrated by what was available in the market for keratoconus sufferers.  After going through and testing 700 lenses and 12 different designs, he came up with a set of 26 lenses from which all patients are fitted.

A further two years was spent in a development stage to perfect the lens design.  Five years ago the lens emerged in the local market and now 80 per cent of New Zealand's keratoconus sufferers are fitted with them.

An international breakthrough came in 1995 when the powerful American Food and Drug Administration gave approval for the lens to be marketed in the United States.

Earlier, Mr Rose had begun working with contact lens manufacturer, Lens Dynamics of Colorado, who developed new lathe software to make the 'Rose K' lenses.  The lens has been the subject of extensive research and trials.

A world authority on keratoconus, Dr Patrick Caroline, director of contact lens research at the Oregon Health Services University, Portland, USA, recently completed research into the effectiveness of the 'Rose K' lens.  He concluded that the Rose K 'is a quantum leap forward, in the evolution of lens design' for the condition.

Disclaimer: The article refers to a joint venture between Bausch & Lombe and Rose K International. There is no legal inter-company joint venture, but rather co-operation between the two companies to achieve symbiotic benefits to Boston materials and Rose K lenses.