Developing Eye Drop Containers That Help Medical Treatments
Santen's commitment to developing the ideal container originated in 1899 in Japan, when the Company launched over-the-counter eye drops: Daigaku Eye Drops. To ensure excellent usability for this product, Santen developed a glass bottle with a cork stopple. Since no other products available then allowed users to instill liquid directly from the bottle, Santen's container, as well as the eye drops, won high acclaim. In 1962, instead of conventional glass bottles, Santen employed plastic containers for its eye drops for the first time in Japan. Subsequently, Santen introduced various advanced technologies of the time from Western countries. For instance, the Company adopted sealed "bottle packed" containers for prescription eye drops during the 1970s, and tip-and-cap type containers with transparent caps on dropper tips during the 1990s. Santen's researchers have always been seeking ways to help users, constantly asking themselves whether its containers are truly usable for patients. As a result, in 2002 they developed Dimple Bottles, featuring Santen's original design.
History of Santen's Eye Drop Bottles
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1899 Glass Bottles |
The first eye drops in Japan were marketed in 1867. Since then, containers have been constantly improving over the past century. Santen used glass bottles for its first eye drops. |  |
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1962 Plastic Containers |
As soon as plastics became a popular material for daily utensils, Santen developed plastic containers for its eye drops. Super Sante, Japan's first eye drops in plastic containers, became a great hit thanks to how much easier they were to carry and to administer. The use of plastic containers was regarded as a "revolution in eye drop container design." |  |
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1977 "Bottle Packed" Eye Drops |
To improve the safety of sterile eye drops, for the first time in Japan, Santen introduced the Blow/Fill/Seal ("bottle pack") production system developed in Germany. This enabled container molding, solution filling, and sealing in a continuous process in a sterile, enclosed environment. Since the "bottle packed" containers had no spout openings when they were supplied to patients, this freed users from any concern about bacteria. |  |
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1992 Tip-and-Cap |
Santen introduced a tip-and-cap technology developed in the United States by improving the Blow/Fill/Seal system. In the new system, instead of providing a spout opening in the bottle body, each bottle has a dropper tip covered by a transparent cap, which keeps the container sealed tightly. |  |
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2002 Dimple Bottles |
Santen developed its original Dimple Bottle design after thorough studies of the ideal shape for containers in terms of usability. For instance, the new design makes it easier to hold the bottle, to remove the shrink film label, and to instill the solution. |  |
Dimple Bottle's Features
The shrink film label with a pull-tab is easy to remove.
The cap has a size easy to grip, and can be opened by being rotated just once.
The product name is displayed in larger fonts
The dimples on both sides make the container easy to hold. The bottle is also soft and easy to press.
Transparent slots on both sides of the bottle enable users to check the amount of the remaining solution at a glance.
The nozzle has a spout opening of optimal size for instilling the right amount of solution. At the same time, the nozzle has a drip resistant design.