Contact lenses (CLs) have become an essential tool in ocular drug delivery, providing
effective treatment options for specific eye conditions. In recent advancements, Therapeutic CLs
(TCLs) have emerged as a promising approach for maintaining therapeutic drug concentrations on
the eye surface. TCLs offer unique attributes, including prolonged wear and a remarkable ability to
enhance the bioavailability of loaded medications by more than 50%, thus gaining widespread usage.
They have proven beneficial in pain management, medication administration, corneal healing, and
protection. To achieve sustained drug delivery from TCLs, researchers are exploring diverse systems,
such as polymeric nanoparticulate systems, lipidic systems, and the incorporation of agents like vitamin
E or rate-limiting polymers. However, despite breakthrough successes, certain challenges persist,
including ensuring drug stability during processing and manufacturing, controlling release kinetics,
and biomaterial interaction, reducing protein adhesion, and addressing drug release during packaging
and storage etc. While TCLs have shown overall success in treating corneal and ocular surface
disorders, careful consideration of potential issues and contraindications is vital. This review offers
an insightful perspective on the critical aspects that need to be addressed regarding TCLs, with a
specific emphasis on their advantages and limitations.