Systane

Systane is a line of over-the-counter lubricant eye drops and related eye-care products made by Alcon, the Swiss-American ophthalmology company. The range is aimed at dry eye, a common condition in which the eye's surface is not kept properly moist, and it also includes sterile wipes for cleaning the eyelids. Systane is a product brand inside Alcon rather than a company of its own.

The first product, Systane Lubricant Eye Drops, was announced in early 2003, when Alcon said it would ship a new artificial-tear formula to retailers that month [7]. Over the following two decades the name grew into a family of drops with different formulas for different kinds of dryness. Alcon describes Systane today as the world's number one consumer brand for artificial tears, a ranking it bases on its own calculations from market-research data [1]. The brand remains active, with country websites across several continents.

Systane began as a single formula. In February 2003, the ophthalmology news service Healio reported, citing an Alcon press release, that the company would begin shipping Systane Lubricant Eye Drops to retailers that month. Alcon described the drops as containing a "unique gelling and lubricating polymer system" designed to adjust to the pH of the user's own tear film.

A company spokeswoman explained that the polymer system combined hydroxypropyl guar with borate. This worked together with two moisturising ingredients, propylene glycol and polyethylene glycol, and a balance of salts intended to mimic natural tears. In its launch material, Alcon said a clinical study had shown Systane improving visible signs of dryness within days. The company also said the drops had outperformed the leading artificial tear of the time on morning dryness, evening dryness and the feeling of something in the eye. These were the company's own claims, made at launch.

Where the brand comes from depends on whether one looks at the product or at its owner. A 2011 peer-reviewed review identifies the Systane family as a product of Alcon Laboratories Inc. in Fort Worth, Texas, and the 2003 launch report also carried a Fort Worth dateline [8]. The parent company, Alcon Inc., is incorporated in the Canton of Fribourg, Switzerland, and has its global headquarters in Geneva, while its main operational base remains in Fort Worth [6]. Systane can therefore be described as developed in the United States by a company that is today domiciled in Switzerland.

After the original drops, Alcon added new versions rather than replacing the first one. By 2011, the review by Umberto Benelli of the University of Pisa, published in the journal Clinical Ophthalmology, listed five members of the family [8]. These were the original Systane drops, a preservative-free version, Systane Ultra, a preservative-free Systane Ultra, and the then-newest addition, Systane Balance.

Systane Balance marked a change of direction. Earlier formulas relied on polymers and moisturisers. Balance added a lipid, or oil-based, component meant to top up the tear film's outer oily layer. This was aimed at people whose dryness comes from problems with the meibomian glands, the small glands in the eyelids that produce that oil.

Later products carried the same idea further. On the brand's current websites, the range is led by Systane Complete, Systane Ultra and Systane Hydration, sold in preservative-free forms, alongside Systane Lid Wipes. The US site promotes a further product, Systane Pro PF. Alcon has also extended the Systane name beyond eye drops for dryness. Its US site lists Systane iLUX², an in-office treatment, and Systane Zaditor, an eye-allergy product.

In August 2024, the German-language site announced a new look for the range under the line "NEUER LOOK, bewährte Qualität" ("new look, proven quality"), saying the redesigned packs were available immediately.

Systane has always belonged to Alcon; it was created inside the company rather than bought from outside. Its history of ownership is therefore that of its parent.

Alcon was founded in 1945 in Fort Worth, Texas. In July 2008, Novartis bought about 25 percent of Nestlé's stake in Alcon, with an option to buy Nestlé's remaining shares from 2010 [6]. Alcon then operated as a subsidiary of Novartis. On April 9, 2019, Alcon completed a full spin-off from Novartis and became a separate publicly traded company, with shares traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ALC [6].

Within Alcon, Systane sits in the over-the-counter eye-care business. The company's US site groups it with GenTeal Tears as Alcon's dry-eye brands. In the same eye-care portfolio, Alcon sells contact lenses such as Dailies, Precision1, Total30 and Air Optix, and contact-lens solutions such as Opti-Free and Clear Care. Alcon reported 25,599 full-time-equivalent employees in 2024, about 4,500 of them in Fort Worth [6].

Alcon presents Systane as a range rather than a single answer to dry eye. Its German site says the range was developed to address the different needs of people with dry eyes. It invites users to choose between fast relief, long-lasting relief and what it calls all-in-one relief. The US site uses similar language, promising formulas for "all types of dry eye".

The brand's marketing explains the condition in plain terms. On its German site, dry eye is described as a chronic condition that arises when there are too few tears, when the tears are of poor quality, or when the eye's surface itself is affected. The site lists lifestyle, environment, medical procedures, medicines and age as contributing factors. It names symptoms such as watery or tired eyes, blurred vision, a gritty feeling and burning. It also points to a type of dryness linked to the eyelid oil glands, where too little oil lets the tears evaporate too quickly.

The German-language campaign uses the headline "Trockene Augen? Nicht mein Problem!" ("Dry eyes? Not my problem!") and an informal tone. Visitors are invited to try a simple test: can they go 12 seconds without blinking? The site adds that the test does not replace a diagnosis by an eye specialist.

The brand's market-position claim rests on Alcon's own figures. The German site states that Systane is the world's number one consumer brand for artificial tears, citing internal Alcon calculations based on IQVIA consumer-health sales data for the 12 months to June 2021 [1]. The US site describes it as part of the "#1 leading global dry eye brand" and of Alcon's "#1 doctor recommended family of brands" for artificial tears. Alcon also says its over-the-counter products in the US carry a 60-day satisfaction guarantee.

The ingredient Alcon puts at the centre of the brand is HP-Guar, short for hydroxypropyl guar. The company calls it a "unique, patented" ingredient shared by the Systane drop family [1]; no patent number is given. The 2011 review notes that the products combine hydroxypropyl guar with propylene glycol and, in every version except Systane Balance, polyethylene glycol 400 [8]. The review describes these drops as a new generation of artificial tears. According to the same review, the non-preservative-free formulas are preserved with polyquaternium-1.

The current range builds different features on that base:

- Systane Complete (preservative-free) uses a nano-emulsion of paraffin and phospholipids, which, the company explains, is what gives the drops their milky-white colour. Alcon says the product provides long-lasting relief, clinically shown for up to eight hours, and is suitable for all types of dry eye [4]. The brand cites a 2020 multicentre trial published in Clinical Ophthalmology for its symptom-relief claim [2]. - Systane Ultra (preservative-free) is presented as giving fast relief from dryness, irritation and discomfort. The brand cites a 2009 study comparing it with a competing drop, Optive. - Systane Hydration (preservative-free) combines HP-Guar with hyaluronate to reduce friction and, in Alcon's words, restore the eye's natural moisture balance. Alcon says it is designed for immediate and long-lasting relief. - Systane Pro PF, promoted on the US site, is marketed as offering up to 12 hours of dry-eye relief [5]. - Systane Lid Wipes are sterile, individually packed wipes that Alcon calls hypoallergenic. They are meant for gently removing eye makeup and crusts that can irritate the eyelids. It is the one product in the range directly tied to eye makeup.

Outside the company's own pages, the 2011 review states that the Systane lubricants are safe and indicated for the temporary relief of burning and irritation caused by dryness of the eye [8]. It describes Systane Ultra and Systane Balance as using what it calls an intelligent delivery system. Both, it says, give symptom relief to patients with dry eye.

No awards are documented for Systane. The brand has, however, received attention in the professional eye-care press and in medical literature. Healio's ophthalmology news section covered the original launch in February 2003. In 2011, Clinical Ophthalmology published Benelli's review of the Systane family. It covered the formulas, how they work and their clinical use, with particular attention to Systane Ultra and Systane Balance.

Systane is active. Alcon runs Systane country websites across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific. The US site carries a 2026 copyright notice and features Systane Pro PF. The German-language range was relaunched with new packaging in August 2024. The brand also maintains social-media accounts on Instagram and Facebook.