Cynthia Barratt has worked 12 years to get her company's products on store shelves and into the hands of the public. Succeeding, the products now top the nation's preferred eyelid hygiene list. "We began with 12 products on a single sheet of paper," she said, holding the most recent 24-page catalog as she sifts through ads waiting to be placed in national eye care magazines. The company is Cynacon/OCuSOFT®, a firm she and Nat Adkins conceived, birthed and stroked through it's infancy in a Pecan Grove business park, and in its adolescence has developed into an international multi-million dollar business located in Rosenberg.

First came the solution they developed and patented for cleansing eyelids. That, they say, seemed easy; after all, there were no products like it on the market. "Not only is it used for lid hygiene, it reduces staph infections," explains Barratt. "The data supported that nine out of 10 patients could use a lid scrub and we were aware that contact lens users were also prone to Dry Eye," she said, referring to how Dry Eye has become the low back pain of ophthalmology. "We realized our product could eliminate the potential contamination caused by diluted shampoo," she said, pointing to completed studies by James E. Key, M.D., Past President of the Contact Lens Association of Ophthalmology (CLAO) and a nationally known contact lens researcher. "And it's less irritating than baby shampoo," she added.

Their most recent product is a gel called Tears Again® NIGHT & DAY Lubricant Gel, a lubricant used in the treatment of Dry Eye Syndrome. Soon, ophthalmologists offices are expected to be brimming with people over 40 years old complaining of red, irritated eyes due to an aqueous deficiency. "Dry Eye can be caused by various conditions, dieting habits or seasonal," she said, "Or it can be caused by haze and smoke like we recently witnessed from the fires in Mexico. "We pioneered the market in lid hygiene and expect to do so with gel therapy," said Barratt. "Actually, the non-compete clause agreement with our previous employer forced us to get creative." Both Barratt and Adkins were in executive positions when they left Akorn, a nationally recognized pharmaceutical company. "We cashed in our stock options and could have taken the money and set out for the beach, but we're both very motivated and knew that wasn't what we wanted to do. We both wanted to use our experience and knowledge to bring products into the market that could make a difference for patients."

When Barratt and Adkins relocated to Pecan Grove, they decided to obtain space in an office park along FM 359. "We officially opened our office in June 1986 but we didn't produce any products until March the following year," she said, adding Nat is the creative, idea person where she serves as the cultivator who mows and waters the crops and takes the product to market. "As a team we should be able to come up with a plan and keep it in budget," she laughs. "We began by financing everything ourselves with the $500,000 from the stocks we cashed in from our previous employment," she said. "There were no venture capitalists, only a few select shareholders who were invested less than 25 percent. We were under capitalized and too stupid to know better, yet we were so close to the Texas Medical Center and many of the doctors we needed to reach," she said, leading on to their decision to have Dr. James Key perform a study on their products and have the results published.

Over the years Barratt had gained another advantage, one most would see and use as a detriment. As a child, Barratt was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a congenital cancer, and subsequently lost her right eye. So after being fitted with a prosthesis in her youth, she well knows what products are needed from surgical scrubs to vitamins. Again, products to assist the patient had not been grouped together, so Barratt and Adkins can be credited with developing the first kit for patients receiving an artificial eye. Now when dispensing a prosthesis, an ocularist can hand their patient the instructions along with a pack of anti-bacterial hand soap, irrigating solutions, lid scrub, facial soap and Tears Again® NIGHT & DAY Lubricant Gel. "We take pride in being innovative," she said, displaying the many products which show the company's packaging and marketing concepts.

And every bit helps. "Another nationally known company, Lobob Laboratories, is known for its hard contact lens solution. They began inserting our lid scrub in their contact lens solution starter kits this summer after a preview of the new packaging was presented to doctors attending an ophthalmic convention in Florida this spring. The program was well received. From our Rosenberg site we expect to package and disperse over 10,000 starter kits a month to doctors and new patients," she added. "This summer we're continuing to add to our customer service department as we beef up the market on the gel," she said, adding "The lid scrub is now on shelves across America at Eckerd, Walgreens, and other chain stores. Over 50 percent of our business is over the counter sales from people who seem to love the products," she said, adding that they plan to do the same with Tears Again as it moves along to retail.

OCuSOFT® has developed at a fast pace, but it also is a full-service company that offers more than its own products to doctors. The company's catalog displays facial cleansers, hand soaps, surgical tools, vitamins, and other complimentary products, along with an 800 number, an e-mail address and a web site have made it easier for doctors to order the products they need in one order. "We also send thousands of packages of our products abroad each year to assist American missions," she said. "Fortunately, and due to our employees' hard work, our doctors have become very loyal," she said. "We keep our fingers on the pulse every day and in many different ways," she said, inserting the speed of delivery and correctness of orders that come in on their 800 number. "It's a double check system, triple if necessary."

Attendance at trade shows continues from September through May. "The pace keeps many of our employees like marketing director Rose Mary Martinez running frantic as she travels through airports with displays and her lap top. The trade shows enable us to listen to what doctors are saying as well as to see what our competition is doing," she said, admitting the national scene seems clearer than ever before for increasing the company's sales and products. "Our growth factors keep multiplying," she added. "My parents urged me to always do better and pushed us to be the best we could be," Ms. Barratt said, explaining that she worked three jobs to complete her studies at the University of Texas. Adkins, a native of Palacios, on the other hand, went so far as to imply that he should not consider college. After completing a marketing degree from Southwest Texas, he was recruited by Allergan and then by Akorn to rise from sales manager to company president in seven years. "It's Nat who gives me and our employees that, 'You can do it!' approach to work."

"We've grown every year and we're witnessing our best year yet," she said, adding they are hiring additional personnel, doubling in size and looking at acquisitions. "The impact, we feel, has come about by our being innovative," she assessed, telling of how the business also produces products for an Argentinian company as well as Peruvian Corporation and labels the lid scrub in Spanish. Additionally, the lid scrub was introduced for international sales in Moscow in June. "We're continually grooming the company and studying strategic positions so we can reach the next level of business," she adds. "We have to get ready for those 77 million baby boomers."