State-of-the-Art Contact Lenses Made from Silicone-Hydrogel Polymers Allow for 'Extended Wear' and Are Expected to Represent More Than Two-Thirds of U.S. Soft Contact Lens Sales by 2009

Business Wire, August 20, 2007

Scale-up manufacturing innovations to be presented today at American Chemical Society (ACS) annual meeting, Boston

"Silicone-hydrogel polymers are making extended-wear contact lenses a reality and dramatically expanding the worldwide market for contact lenses."

Robert S. (Bob) Ward, CEO, Polymer Technology Group (PTG)

BERKELEY, Calif. -- Polymer Technology Group (www.polymertech.com), a preeminent biomaterials company, announced today that its President and CEO, Robert S. (Bob) Ward, along with Jean Jacob, Ph.D., professor of ophthalmology at Louisiana State University Health Science Center (LSUHSC), will report from the podium this morning during the 234th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS) at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. Their report ("The Polymer Chemistry of Contact Lenses: Improving Comfort with Bulk and Surface Modification") will focus on the bulk and surface properties required in silicone hydrogels and innovative PTG processing that allows rapid scale-up from small R&D formulation to automated manufacturing for producing silicone-hydrogel polymers in bulk quantities. PTG is also exhibiting at the conference (booth #1426).

Silicone hydrogels make possible a new generation of 'super-permeable' contact lenses that can transmit unprecedented amounts of oxygen to the cornea and, in some cases, enable 30 consecutive days of 'extended wear' without removal.

"Silicone-hydrogel contact lenses represent a breakthrough over traditional hydrogel soft contact lenses, because silicone permits so much more oxygen to pass through the lens, which is essential for a healthy cornea," said Bob Ward. "In fact, these next-generation lenses allow six or seven times more oxygen to permeate than previous contact lenses, which is why they are becoming very popular with both wearers and eye care professionals. Most users find silicone-hydrogel lenses much more comfortable to wear than traditional hydrogel lenses, and this is dramatically growing the market for silicone-hydrogels."

In addition to increased oxygen permeability, comfort is improved through control of surface chemistry, without which high-silicone lenses might actually adhere to the eye. Thus, the success of silicone-hydrogel lenses comes from well-known bulk modifications of the lens material (the inclusion of silicone), combined with sophisticated surface modifications that convert the normally hydrophobic surface of silicone to a very wettable, hydrophilic surface that discourages protein accumulations and supports a normal 'tear film' on the outer surface of the lens.

For nearly two decades, PTG has been a recognized leader in the research, development and manufacturing of specialty polymers such as silicone-hydrogels and precursors used commercially in a wide range of medical devices, diagnostics and healthcare consumer products.

Headquartered in Berkeley, Calif., Polymer Technology Group (PTG) specializes in the research, development, design, scale-up, and manufacture of new polymers, medical devices, and components. PTG's recently expanded operations to 53,000-square-feet comprise the equipment and expertise to support production scale polymer synthesis through contract medical device manufacturing.

*Source: Robert W. Baird & Co. equity research