A History of Innovation

Paragon Vision Sciences has been shaping the contact lens industry since its early days as Paragon Optical. It was in the mid-70s, when Paragon decided to pursue an improved material for gas permeable (GP) lenses, while the rest of the world was clamoring for soft contact lenses. Determined to produce a GP material that would offer the comfort of soft contact lenses along with excellent ocular health and safety, greater durability, visual clarity, and easier care, Paragon set out on a future of innovations.

In February of 1995, Paragon in collaboration with NASA, launched simultaneous experiments on earth and aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. The experiments were a comparative look at the differences between materials polymerized on earth versus materials polymerized in the near zero gravity of space. As a result, Paragon researchers utilized concepts gleaned from the experiments to engineer a proprietary Hyperpurified Delivery System (HDS Technology®) that effectively eliminated so-called “bad” silicone from the polymer material.

By purifying the silicone, the process safely gives Paragon HDS Technology materials (Paragon HDS®, Paragon Thin™ and Paragon HDS® 100) excellent physical characteristics in terms of excellent wettability, dimensional stability, hardness and optics. Paragon HDS and Paragon HDS 100 are two of the few GP materials cleared by the FDA for up to seven days of continuous wear. Just another way Paragon Vision Sciences has furthered the GP industry.

Key Paragon Vision Sciences Innovations

• 1976-Paragon® 18 injection-molded radius PMMA buttons
• 1982-Paraperm® O2, the first GP material for independent laboratories
• 1983-First Good Manufacturing Practices Manual for GP’s
• 1986-Paraperm® EW, the first extended-wear GP lens material
• 1987-FluoroPerm® 92 Dk, the first material in the FluoroPerm® System
• 1988-Cast-radius molded GP materials
• 1993-First in space-Paragon materials polymerized aboard NASA space shuttle begins long-term NASA partnership in materials research
• 1994-Encapsulated segment bifocal GP contact lens button, the FluoroPerm® ST Bifocal
• 1996-FluoroPerm® 151, a super high Dk material
• 1997-MaximEyes™, a planned replacement program for FluoroPerm® 151
• 1997-Introduction of Paragon HDS®
• 1998-Introduction of Paragon Thin™
• 2001-Introduction of Paragon HDS® 100
• 2002-Introduction of Paragon CRT®
• 2008-Introduction of Paragon SUREFIT Guarantee™ Program. Single use lens diagnostic & despensing system.
• 2008-Introduction of Paragon HDS 1.54 the highest refractive index in the world.
• 2009-Introduction of Dual Axis Paragon CRT®

The Paragon Formula

Paragon’s growth over the last 30 years can be attributed to one thing: a steadfast dedication to the Paragon mission, which is to build a world-class specialty vision products company by "improving lives through better vision." Under that mission comes a commitment to research and development, an entrepreneurial spirit and a desire to embrace laboratories, practitioners and other industry manufacturers as partners in our goal of providing better products, technology and services for better vision.

As a leading developer of oxygen permeable lens materials and specialty vision products, Paragon is only part of the solution in eye care. Paragon Authorized Laboratory Partners are vital to the success of the industry. The strength of the partnership between Paragon and the Laboratories is the key to better vision.