Dry eye patients generally prefer preservative-free topical products, as agents like benzalkonium chloride can exacerbate ocular surface compromise, but they also enjoy the convenience of reusable bottles. Alcon seeks to serve both goals with its recent introduction of Systane Hydration Multi-Dose Preservative-Free (MDPF), which puts its popular ocular lubricant in a specially designed bottle. The tip of the device is equipped with a one-way valve that blocks uptake of fluid back into the bottle to help prevent contamination, allowing the product to remain preservative-free. Alcon calls this bottle design “PureFlow.”

Dry eye patients and those who’ve recently undergone surgery often use ocular lubricants multiple times per day, and this new packaging aims to ease their experience of it, Alcon said in a press release. The product itself, intended for aqueous-deficient dry eye patients, contains both sodium hyaluronate and HP-Guar polymers (a pairing Alcon calls “HydroBoost”) to help achieve long-lasting relief, the company explains.

Systane Hydration MDPF will soon be available in the US at all major pharmacies and online retailers, the company says. The product is also available in single-use vials, introduced last year.

For more information, visit  www.alcon.com.