Eye drops look like a small line in any range, but they move steadily. Conjunctivitis season, dry eyes from screens, allergies in spring and the follow-up after every cataract surgery keep ophthalmologists writing the same few categories week after week.
The companies listed above offer an eye drops franchise under their own brand names. This page explains what is usually in such a range, why the manufacturing side matters more here than for tablets, and who you will actually be selling to.
What a good ophthalmic range covers
Most of the prescription volume falls into four groups:
- Antibiotic drops such as moxifloxacin, gatifloxacin, tobramycin and ofloxacin, used for infections and after surgery.
- Lubricants like carboxymethylcellulose, sodium hyaluronate and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, for dry eye. These are repeat purchases.
- Anti-allergic drops such as olopatadine and ketotifen, which peak in spring and in dusty months.
- Steroid and steroid-antibiotic combinations like prednisolone, loteprednol or moxifloxacin with dexamethasone, mostly written after cataract surgery.
Some companies add anti-glaucoma drops, NSAID drops and eye ointments. If you plan to work with eye hospitals, these extras help, because one surgeon's post-operative kit can include three or four products.
Why sterile production matters
An eye drop goes straight onto the eye, so it has to be sterile. That means it is made in a dedicated sterile area, filled into dropper bottles under controlled conditions and tested for sterility before release. Not every plant that makes good tablets can make good eye drops.
Ask the franchise company which plant makes their ophthalmic range and request a recent certificate of analysis for one or two products. Check the bottle as well. A dropper that leaks, gives uneven drops or has a weak tamper seal will get your brand dropped by the doctor faster than any price issue. Also check what the label says about use after opening. Most multi-dose drops are meant to be discarded a few weeks after the seal is broken, and patients and chemists do ask about it.
Who buys and how to work the market
Your main prescribers are ophthalmologists in private clinics and eye hospitals. Many of them run an in-house pharmacy or have an optical-cum-chemist shop next door, and that shop stocks whatever the doctor writes. Getting one active eye surgeon in a town can be enough to move a steady quantity every month.
General physicians and paediatricians also write antibiotic and anti-allergic drops, and lubricants sell over the counter at regular chemists. So even if you have no eye hospital contact yet, the lubricant and anti-allergy lines give you a way in.
Plan your first three months around a few doctors, not the whole district. Meet the eye surgeons first, leave samples of the post-operative drops, and make sure the attached pharmacy has stock before your second visit. An eye drops franchise grows by the surgeon's habit. Once a doctor puts your brand in a printed post-cataract kit, it stays there for months.
Before signing, compare PTR and margins on each pack, the minimum order, the monopoly area, the dispatch time and how much shelf life is left on the stock you receive. Eye drops often have a shorter shelf life than tablets, so stock arriving with only half its life left is a real problem. Ask for this in writing.
Post your requirement on this page
Fill the free requirement form on this page with the details companies need to quote you properly: the eye drops franchise range you want (antibiotic, lubricant, anti-allergic, steroid or full ophthalmic), your district or state, whether you already work with eye hospitals, your expected first order and when you want to begin. Your number is not published. The requirement reaches only companies with a matching range in your area, and they call you back.
Related pages: Injections and Probiotics. Molecules most listed here: Moxifloxacin, Ketorolac, Carboxymethylcellulose.
