Expanding J&J Vision's new corporate site launches with a little eye 'magic'

The eyes have it at J&J. In less than two years, the Johnson & Johnson Vision business has moved from a leading contact lens brand (Acuvue) to a growing comprehensive eye health company. And last week, it opened a window into the business with the debut of JJVision.com, connecting its portfolio of digital properties for consumers and eye care professionals.

The just-launched umbrella website opens with “The Magic of Our Eyes,” an introductory two-minute video story with close-up shots of people’s faces, focusing on their eyes, and a narrative about the wonder and power of eyesight. It finishes with a voiceover that says, “That is why we are committed to elevate sight throughout a lifetime for those in need worldwide. Innovating in new ways every day to protect the magic of our eyes.”

“This website reflects our broad capabilities and our commitment to turn the trajectory of eye health for people the world over,” said Angela Sekston, worldwide communications leader, vision care for J&J Vision. That commitment is built around the treatment gap that exists in eye care for the 253 million people worldwide who are visually impaired, she added, noting that 80% could be treated, prevented or cured with the proper screening, diagnosis and treatment.

The consumer website follows the March launch of JNJVisionPro.com, a site complete with online learning, patient education and practice resources for eye care professionals. The professional website is linked from the new JJVision.com portal, as are the Acuvue, surgical professionals and Sightbox websites.

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J&J Vision competes in the $80 billion eye health category in medical devices, pharmaceuticals and consumer goods. It had functioned as J&J Vision Care mainly around contact lenses for the past 30 years, but it began a concerted push into broader eye health into 2016. That growth was fueled by acquisitions in 2017, with three major purchases: Abbott Medical Optics, TearScience and Sightbox. J&J Vision, which reports into the company's medical devices unit, brought in revenue of more than $4.3 billion last year for annual growth of 6.5%, Ashley McEvoy, J&J group chairman for J&J Vision, said during an investor call this month.

While still developing, J&J’s beefed-up vision mission extends across its divisions, including pharma. The company recently filed a regulatory application in Japan for the first combination of contact lenses with medicine. It's just part of J&J's mission to work across groups in its bid to offer differentiated capabilities, McEvoy said.

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“I mentioned as an example, our access into our pharmaceutical company and how we tapped into that collaboration to be launching soon, within the next 24 months, the first drug-eluting contact lens,” she said on the call. Xiao-Yu Song, J&J Vision’s worldwide R&D leader, added that the drug-eluting contact lens will treat “patients with itchy eyes due to ocular allergies.”