06 October 2026
CooperVision has announced a pipeline of six new product advancements, including new contact lens solutions for myopic and astigmatic patients and multifocal wearers.
The new products were announced during the official opening of CooperVision’s new global headquarters, The Vision Centre, at Adanac Park in Southampton, on Wednesday 23 September.
They include a complete family of toric one-day contact lenses for myopia control, an advanced one-day silicone hydrogel toric multifocal contact lens, and a new toric one-day contact lens experience for astigmatic patients.
Product advancements include a novel premium one-day silicone hydrogel technology, a next-generation silicone hydrogel material in a high-performing monthly contact lens, and a one-day silicone hydrogel innovation to drive new contact lens fits.
The products will be released in the coming years and represent “one of the most ambitious product pipelines in CooperVision's history,” a spokesperson said.
The company noted that it is committed to “shaping the next era of vision care through science-led innovation.”
Jerry Warner, president of CooperVision, said: “We’re not satisfied with simply keeping pace with the evolution of eye care. We intend to help define what’s next, while strengthening CooperVision’s position as an innovative, technology-forward and consumer-connected vision care leader.”
Speaking to OT at the opening of The Vision Centre, Francis Erard, vice president of research and development for CooperVision, explained that the centre has been created in order to “deliver solutions to eye care professionals in the fastest way.”
Myopia control is the top aim for CooperVision, alongside retaining new contact lens patients, allowing patients to wear contact lenses for longer, and facilitating entry to products for presbyopic patients, Erard said.
On the product innovations that CooperVision announced at the Vision Centre’s opening, Erard said: “We will launch a family of product to control myopia for children. We already have MiSight. We will add other products, to have a range.”
One of these solutions is designed to correct astigmatism in children whilst also controlling myopia, Erard told OT.
New lens materials include a new silicone for daily disposable lenses and CooperVision also aims to launch a new silicone for astigmatism, Erard said.
The company will also increase its toric range by adding a toric multifocal lenses in a silicon hydrogel material, he added.
The most important development is bringing forward more products to treat myopia control, Erard told OT.
“Today, we have no solution for children with astigmatism,” he said.
He explained: “We will bring this innovation [forward]. I’m very excited for these children and for the business.
“Having children embracing contact lenses means they are our future customers. They might start [in contact lenses] when they are 10 years old, and move to a new product when they are 20. They could stay as our customers for their whole lives.”
Erard added: “The Vision Centre is not a building. The Vision Centre is our vision of working for the future. It’s to collaborate, because all the functions are under the same roof: scientists, commercial colleagues, and customers.
“That is the ambition: to build this new way of working, and to deliver innovation quickly.”
A centre for innovation and shared learning
The Vision Centre is described as CooperVision’s new ‘global innovation hub,’ bringing together research and development, manufacturing, customer engagement spaces, a new contact lens clinic, and commercial capabilities.
The contact lens manufacturer hopes that the new centre will help it to accelerate development and bring products to market more quickly than it has been able to in the past.
Caroline Nokes MP, who represents Romsey and Southampton North and is a deputy speaker in the House of Commons, was on hand to press the button to officially open The Vision Centre.
Nokes said: "The Vision Centre is an impressive facility bringing together CooperVision’s research and development, clinical expertise, pilot manufacturing and commercial capabilities into a global innovation hub at Adanac Park, giving a real sense of the scale of its ambitions.”
She added: “I particularly enjoyed hearing about the work taking place there and the company’s plans for the future.”
The impact of The Vision Centre will extend “well beyond” her constituency of Romsey and Southampton North, Nokes said.
She emphasised: “It is exciting to see breakthrough solutions that could improve eye care for people around the world being developed right here in Hampshire.”
The benefit that The Vision Centre has in terms of learning was also emphasised during the opening.
Warner said: “The future of eye care will be shaped by collaboration, scientific advancement, and a deep understanding of the people who provide and benefit from our innovations.”
He added: “The Vision Centre provides an environment that helps our teams build on the strong collaboration that already exists across CooperVision, enabling faster learning, deeper integration, and accelerated discovery.”
The site will house around 350 CooperVision colleagues, and will facilitate learning and development opportunities for visitors, including optometrists.
Tom Elliott, optometrist and professional affairs manager for EMEA at CooperVision, told OT about the value of the new facilities for visiting eye care practitioners.
“We can have eye care practitioners come to visit, and we can demonstrate with high-end technology how we can make contact lens fitting easy, simple, quick, and give you some top tips to take back to your practices,” Elliott said.
He added: “We have a one-stop shop dedicated space. We have high-end equipment. We have many trial lenses available, and we have the ability to see lenses on-eye and have a hands-on workshop.
“Eye care practitioners can really learn a lot by visiting the centre. They can have hands-on experience and receive some top tips for fitting lenses – how to make it easier and more simple when they return back to practice. Using the state-of-the-art equipment, we can share some ideas and techniques to make contact lens fitting even easier.”
The clinic is equipped with a Topcon Myah optical biometer and corneal topographer, Elliott told OT.
He added that he hopes visiting The Vision Centre will help eye care practitioners in their conversations around myopia management, “so the parent and child can really understand why myopia management is so important.”
Optometrist and practice owner, Indie Grewal, also attended the opening of The Vision Centre.
“It was fantastic to see first-hand the scale of their [CooperVision’s] continued investment in contact lens innovation,” Grewal said.
Grewal noted that research and development, business and commercial, and technical innovations are all a big part of the new centre.
“The space has clearly been designed to encourage collaboration, allowing ideas and expertise to be shared more easily and helping accelerate the development of new contact lens technologies,” he said.
Grewal added: “It was exciting to get a glimpse of what’s coming next and, ultimately, what this investment will mean for eye care practitioners and their patients: new and innovative contact lens solutions that give us more options to meet our patients’ individual needs.”
Comments (0)
You must be logged in to join the discussion. Log in