What KC Pharmaceuticals does

KC Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a California-based private label and contract manufacturer of over-the-counter ophthalmic products, founded in 1988 and headquartered at 3420 Pomona Blvd, Pomona, CA. The company positions itself as the largest private label eye care supplier in North America, manufacturing retailer-branded eye drops, eye ointments, eye wash, and contact lens care solutions for 26 of the top 30 US retailers across food, drug, and mass channels, including CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, Kroger, H-E-B, and Harris Teeter. Its products reach consumers through over 200 distribution centers servicing approximately 90,000+ stores across the United States.

The company's core technology is aseptic fill manufacturing for sterile ophthalmic products, operated from an FDA-inspected facility spanning approximately 150,000 square feet across five buildings, comprising two manufacturing facilities, three warehouses, and a corporate office. KC's portfolio spans five product categories — redness relief eye drops, dry eye relief eye drops, preservative-free eye drops, eye ointments and wash, and contact lens care — with 28+ SKUs formulated as private label equivalents to national brands such as Visine, Clear Eyes, Refresh, Systane, Thera Tears, Muro, and Biotrue. The company leverages more than 35 years of specialized aseptic manufacturing experience and an in-house R&D team positioned as first-to-market on new formulations.

KC operates as a pure B2B private label supplier with no direct consumer marketing; revenue is generated by manufacturing retailer-branded products under direct supply contracts. Pricing is not publicly disclosed, with quotes provided privately to retail partners. The company appears to be independently and privately held, with no disclosed institutional investors, parent company, or funding rounds in the available record. A significant regulatory event occurred when KC voluntarily recalled over 3.1 million bottles across eight brands in a Class II recall (reported April 2026) due to lack of assurance of sterility, affecting products distributed through CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid and representing a material operational and reputational risk.

Name

KC Pharmaceuticals

Legal name

KC Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Website

https://kc-ph.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

KC Pharmaceuticals is the largest private label eye care manufacturer in North America, producing OTC eye drops, ointments, and contact lens solutions for 26 of the top 30 US retailers through FDA-inspected aseptic fill manufacturing at its Pomona, CA facility.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Label Ophthalmic Manufacturing

NAICS

Pharmaceutical Preparation Manufacturing (325412)

SIC

Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834), Ophthalmic Goods (3851)

akta.pro primary industry

Ophthalmology Specialty Pharmaceuticals (HLAIACAK)

Keywords

• Private label eye drops
• Contract pharmaceutical manufacturing
• Ophthalmic product manufacturing
• Over-the-counter eye care
• Aseptic fill manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Pomona

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Private Label Eye Care Products: KC Pharmaceuticals generates revenue by manufacturing private label eye care and lens care products for major US retailers. The company produces over-the-counter eye drops, eye ointments, eye wash, and contact lens solutions under retailer brand names, selling directly to retail chains who then market these products to consumers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

KC Pharmaceuticals is a prime contract manufacturer of private label over-the-counter ophthalmic products, producing redness relief eye drops, dry eye relief eye drops, preservative-free eye drops, eye ointments, eye wash, and contact lens care solutions for major US retailers. The company operates an FDA-inspected aseptic fill manufacturing facility in Pomona, California, and supplies store-brand equivalents to national brands such as Visine, Clear Eyes, Refresh, Systane, Thera Tears, and Biotrue.

Product overview

KC Pharmaceuticals is a private label eye care manufacturer offering a comprehensive portfolio of over-the-counter ophthalmic products for retail store brands. The product portfolio consists of five main categories: Redness Relief Eye Drops (6 variants with different active ingredient combinations such as Tetrahydrozoline HCl and Naphazoline), Dry Eye Relief Eye Drops (8 variants featuring Carboxymethylcellulose sodium and Polyethylene glycol), Preservative-Free Eye Drops (5 variants in multi-dose vials for sensitive eyes), Eye Ointment & Eye Wash (4 products including hypertonicity ointments and purified water washes), and Contact Lens Care (5 products including multi-purpose solutions, rewetting drops, saline, and hydrogen peroxide disinfectants). All products are manufactured as private label equivalents to national brands such as Visine, Clear Eyes, Refresh, Systane, Thera Tears, Murine, Muro, and Biotrue. The company operates as a B2B supplier serving major US retailers through private label programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Redness Relief Eye Drops Private label over-the-counter redness relief eye drops with active ingredients including Tetrahydrozoline HCl, Naphazoline HCl, Glycerin, Polyethylene glycol 400, and Zinc sulfate; available in multiple formulations as private label equivalents to Visine Red Eye Comfort, Visine Red Eye Hydrating, Visine AC, Visine Red Eye Total Comfort, Clear Eyes, and Clear Eyes Maximum Redness Relief; for major US retailer store brands.
• Dry Eye Relief Eye Drops Private label lubricating eye drops formulated with Carboxymethylcellulose sodium, Polyethylene glycol 400, Polyvinyl alcohol, Povidone, Propylene glycol, and Glycerin; positioned as private label equivalents to Refresh Tears, Visine Dry Eye Relief, Thera Tears, Systane Ultra, Systane Lubricant, LiquiFilm Tears, Murine Tears, and Refresh Optive; for major US retailer store brands.
• Preservative-Free Eye Drops Preservative-free lubricant eye drops in multi-dose vials for sensitive eyes, positioned as private label equivalents to Refresh Plus, Systane Ultra PF, Systane PF, Systane Hydration PF, and Refresh Relieva PF; available in 25, 30, 50, 60, and 70 count packages and 0.33 FL OZ sizes; for major US retailer store brands.
• Eye Ointment Sterile ophthalmic ointments including Sodium chloride 5% hypertonicity ointment (equivalent to Muro 128) and mineral oil/white petrolatum nighttime ointments (equivalent to Refresh PM); 0.125 OZ (3.5 g) sizes; for major US retailer store brands.
• Eye Wash Purified water (99.05%) eye wash solution, 4 FL OZ (118 mL); positioned as private label equivalent to B&L Eye Wash; for major US retailer store brands.
• Contact Lens Care Solutions Private label contact lens care solutions including multi-purpose solutions (equivalents to Renu, Opti-Free Replenish, Biotrue, Opti-Free Puremoist), rewetting drops (equivalent to B&L Rewetting Drops), saline solution (equivalent to B&L Saline), and hydrogen peroxide-based disinfectant (equivalent to Clear Care Plus); available in 4 FL OZ, 12 FL OZ, and 10 FL OZ sizes with twin packs; for major US retailer store brands.

Named customers6 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• World Class Company (Strategic Partner)unspecifiedStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe company mentions having strategic partnerships with world class companies, though specific partner names are not disclosed on their website.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Broad incumbents

• Bausch + Lomb: A leading global ophthalmic company that both manufactures and markets branded OTC eye care products (including private label equivalents in adjacent categories). Directly comparable to KC as an ophthalmic manufacturer operating in OTC eye drops, ointments, and lens care.
• Alcon: Global eye care leader with a broad ophthalmic portfolio spanning surgical, vision care, and OTC eye drops (e.g., Systane). Comparable to KC in producing OTC ophthalmic products and contact lens care solutions at scale.
• Prestige Consumer Healthcare: OTC consumer healthcare company owning major eye care brands including Clear Eyes and Murine Tears. Comparable to KC because many of KC's private label formulations are direct equivalents of Prestige's branded products.
• Teva Pharmaceutical Industries: Global generic pharmaceutical manufacturer with an ophthalmic portfolio. Comparable to KC as a competitor in generic/equivalent ophthalmic dosage forms, though at far greater scale and broader therapeutic scope.
• Lupin Pharmaceuticals: Global generic pharmaceutical company with an ophthalmic franchise including dry eye and anti-infective eye drops. Comparable to KC as a competitor producing generic-equivalent ophthalmic dosage forms for the US retail channel.

Direct peers

• Akorn Pharmaceuticals: US-based specialty and generic ophthalmic pharmaceutical manufacturer producing prescription and OTC eye care products. Highly comparable to KC as a US-headquartered ophthalmic manufacturer with similar product categories and channel exposure.
• Impex Pharmaceuticals: Smaller private label and contract manufacturer of sterile ophthalmic products. Closely comparable to KC in business model (B2B private label OTC eye care manufacturer) though at a smaller scale.
• Padagis (formerly Perrigo generics): Specialty generic and private label pharmaceutical manufacturer with significant OTC and ophthalmic product offerings. Comparable to KC in operating a private label model across OTC consumer health categories including eye care.
• Woodstock Sterile Solutions: US-based contract manufacturer specializing in sterile ophthalmic and injectable products. Comparable to KC as a competing aseptic fill contract manufacturer serving the OTC eye care private label market.
• Altaire Pharmaceuticals: Specialty pharmaceutical manufacturer focused on ophthalmic and otic products including OTC eye drops. Closely comparable to KC as a smaller-scale private label OTC ophthalmic manufacturer competing in similar retail channels.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about KC Pharmaceuticals