In a first for the category, contact lens wearers will be able to protect their eyes from UV light outdoors or harsh illumination indoors with a forthcoming lens in the Acuvue product line, announced today by Johnson & Johnson Vision (JJV) in partnership with Transitions Optical. Previously, this option required spectacle lens wear.

Called Acuvue Oasys with Transitions, the lens will provide wearers with both vision correction and a dynamic photochromic filter that helps to continuously balance the amount of light entering the eye, JJV says. It adjusts from clear to dark in response to changing light conditions, reducing exposure to bright light, filtering blue light and blocking UV rays.

Acuvue Oasys with Transitions, indicated for the attenuation of bright light, has received FDA clearance and will be commercially available in the first half of 2019 as a two-week reusable spherical lens, JJV says. The early announcement of a 2019 product allows the company to ramp up production on a new manufacturing process and educate both doctors and patients about the technology "to ensure they get the best experience at launch," says a JJV spokesperson.