HOYA VISION CARE and EYEFINITY Enter Agreement to Electronically Expedite Prescription Ordering for Eye Care Professionals

December 17, 2003 -- HOYA VISION CARE and EYEFINITY, the optical industry's most widely used I nternet portal, have recently announced an e-commerce partnership to market HOYA's lens products, and to develop an integrated laboratory Rx ordering program for HOYA customers. Under the agreement, HOYA's advanced lens materials, coatings, and progressive lenses will be featured on eBuy, Eyefinity's online order center.

In the near future, Eyefinity's private eye care practitioner customers will be able to place an order that is electronically transmitted directly to the Rx manufacturing systems at any of 16 HOYA laboratories. This will allow faster, virtually error-free processing of lens orders. HOYA customers will also be able to view job status via Eyefinity's web site.

With this agreement, HOYA's lens products will also be featured in Eyefinity marketing vehicles such as the In Focus electronic newsletter, tradeshow promotions and materials, and practice training workshops and webcasts, among others.

"This agreement represents a great step forward in ease, speed and accuracy for the eye care practitioners ordering HOYA lenses," said Syl Ghirardi, president and COO of HOYA VISION CARE. "In combination with our recently introduced uniform nationwide pricing, the eye care professional now has even more compelling reasons to make HOYA their supplier of choice. We are committed to making HOYA synonymous with top quality and prompt dependable delivery."

"We're excited about this broad, multi-faceted collaboration with HOYA," adds Don Yee, president and CEO of Eyefinity. "The scope of our agreement, and the marketing and technology programs we will be developing together are indicative of how dedicated both companies are to providing the best products and services to the private practice community."

About HOYA VISION CARE
HOYA VISION CARE, North America is a global leader in premium lens designs, materials, and coatings. Through 16 HOYA labs, over 1,200 employees are dedicated to providing products and services that support eye care professionals and advance the optical health of their patients.

About Eyefinity
Eyefinity, in conjunction with industry-leading partners, provides e-commerce, marketing and business management solutions to the private practice eye care community. Through the services of www.eyefinity.com, private practice eye care professionals can order products and lab materials, process online insurance claims, and improve practice management and marketing. Eyefinity serves more than 20,000 private eye care practices and 320 labs, and processes more than 25 million transactions each year.

For more information visit www.eyefinity.com or http://www.hoya.co.jp/english/index.cfm .