Worldwide demand for dry eye products is expected to grow more than 12 percent in 2008 due to an aging global population, a growing global middle class, increased use of computers, and more effective dry eye products. Treatments for dry eye can be grouped into the three categories: OTC products, Rx products and punctum plugs.

At the manufacturer level, sales of dry eye medications are forecast to grow at a compounded rate of 11.5 percent to reach $2.3 billion by 2013. Much of the growth during this period will come from prescription-based therapeutic products designed to address the causes of dry eye.