Contamac Launches Nutrifill™, A Patented Insertion Solution for Scleral Lens Wear
With the perfect theme for the beginning of 2020, Perfect Vision in Sight, the annual Global Specialty Lens Symposium began in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 22nd. The meeting started off with the usual excitement that surrounds the new year, the reunion of old friends and colleagues, and the excitement of learning about new research and new products at one of the premier specialty contact lens meetings in the United States.
On opening day, Contamac was excited to announce the launch of Nutrifill, an FDA cleared (K181566) preservative-free saline solution with 5 essential electrolytes for filling and rinsing scleral, hybrid, and gas permeable (GP) contact lenses. Nutrifill is a unique physiologic formula that, in addition to sodium, contains calcium, magnesium, potassium, and phosphate, with an optimal pH (7.4) and osmolality (300) to provide a fill solution that closely mimics the body’s natural tears. Dr Stephanie Woo, OD, who gave the inaugural presentation on Nutrifill, commented “Scleral lens filling solution can remain on the eye for many hours per day, so it is important to me to choose a solution which mimics the human tear layer as closely as possible. Nutrifill is an innovative new product I am excited to offer my patients.”
Dr Mile Brujic, OD also shared his excitement for the release of Nutrifill, “It is clear that this was a mindful solution. This will create a new wearing experience for scleral lens wearers and provide the clinician with the security of knowing that the solution contained within the bowl of the lens and in contact with the ocular surface was specifically designed to support it.”
Development
The development of Nutrifill has been ongoing for several years, with Ralph Stone, PhD, inventor, and patent holder, at the helm. When asked to share some of the background on the development of Nutrifill, Dr Stone commented, “After reviewing all the research by Arie, Bonnanno, Edelhouser and others, it was clear that we needed to think beyond saline with just sodium chloride for use with specialty contact lenses. This is especially true for scleral lenses, which only exchange the post lens tear layer over hours compared to minutes for other lens modalities. Most of the nutrients and essential ions supplied to the cornea are supplied by the tears because they are not supplied through the circulatory system directly. In the case of a scleral lens, the reservoir under the lens does not allow for tear exchange (the process of liquid under the lenses being replaced by new tears) as often as it does in other contact lenses. This raises the question of what should be done to provide the best environment for scleral lenses.
Nutrifill was designed to provide a solution to go under the lens and provide the essential ions supplied to the cornea by our natural tears, as well as mimic the normal tear osmolarity and pH. We believe that including the essential ions of sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium buffered with phosphate in the scleral lens insertion solution offers patients the benefit of a more natural tear-like solution compared to the current use of sodium chloride solutions alone.”
Prior to the commercial launch, two studies were conducted to confirm that Nutrifill was safe and effective for use with scleral lenses. One study, conducted at The Ohio State School of Optometry, also looked at subjective symptoms and found that a statistically significant improvement was reported on Dryness (16.6+21.1 units [P=0.001]) and Blurry/Fluctuating Vision (18.7+25.8 units [P=0.003]). Similarly, they found that the OSDI score with the use of a habitual solution (26.2+17.3) compared to Nutrifill (16.9 +18.9) revealed a statistically significant decrease of 9.1+13.5 (P=0.006).
Nutrifill is currently only available in the USA and will be available direct to patients to purchase as single cartons (35 single-use 10ml ampules) or sign up for subscription packages through the website.
Nutrifill will be sampled as part of a partnership with Optimum® authorized laboratories and will be included with scleral lens Rx orders, and is also available for wholesale to practitioners who would like to retail to their patients by creating an account.
To learn more about Nutrifill please contact Contamac Solutions at 833-266-8262 or visit Nutrifill.com.
