Low cost hydrogen-peroxide based contact lens cleaning solution

Current retail prices for hydrogen peroxide cleaning solutions for soft contact lenses are in the $7.50-$12 for 12oz (355ml).  This works out to between $0.62 and $1.00 per oz.  The contact lens cleaning container uses ½ oz. of solution per cleaning, meaning that a 12oz. bottle of solution lasts 24 days, or less than a month.   A year’s worth of cleaner is 15 bottles, and costs around $150.

Hydrogen peroxide lens cleaner is essentially nothing more than standard 3% hydrogen peroxide with  salt and buffer added to make the solution isotonic (equivalent in salt concentration to the body) and pH neutral.  The hydrogen peroxide is the same as that obtained in retail outlets for as little as $1.70 for 32oz or $0.05 per oz., which is 12 to 20x less expensive than the branded cleaning solutions.  The buffer is simply baking soda (sodium bicarbonate).  Both the salt and sodium bicarbonate need to be USP grade to eliminate contaminants and additives. The costs of the salt and buffer are negligible due to their low concentrations in the cleaning solution.  (The concentrations are not specified in this article)

There is an opportunity to develop and market either a low-cost “generic” bottled hydrogen peroxide based contact lens cleaner,  or even simpler, a packet that can be added to off-the shelf peroxide that adds the necessary salt/buffer, calibrated to the standard 16 or 32oz bottles.   This can be priced between 2x-5x less than the branded solutions and still be highly profitable.  This is a world-wide opportunity with a low barrier-to-entry and a simple business model.

For more information contact steven <dot> warwick <at> innovationscommercialization <dot> com