Ocular Lubricants 4 –Hyaluronic Acid

By Dr Philip Koopowitz- Dispex & Hexagon6

Following the previous 3 months’ articles on Ocular Lubricants, we are pleased to provide you with
information on the fourth class of Ocular Lubricants, namely Hyaluronic Acid (HA). There is no
generic Hyaluronic Acid ocular lubricant within the Drug Tariff Part VIIIA, so, all the following
products MUST be prescribed by brand.

As with other ocular lubricants, Hyaluronic Acid is available as Preservative Free (PF) or not. It
is available in 9 different strengths as Drops and 6 strengths as Single Dose Units (SDUs). There
are numerous HA preparations which are combined with other ocular lubricants, and these will
be highlighted in future Gazettes. The list inside the member’s area shows the different strengths,
together with whether they are PF and whether they come as SDUs. Prices are taken from the
latest DM+D Browser.

Dispex members can log on to the website to see which products bring about the greatest savings
and profit. The market for HA drops is ever expanding and there are some excellent discount deals,
but not all of them are the same. Some deals require a minimum volume per month, others are based
on a tiered discount structure with increased discounts for higher volume use.

Some companies will give discount on volumes used across their range of ocular lubricants and
others will only offer discount on some products.