Full Press Release Details
to Enter Surgical Glaucoma Market by Acquiring Optonol
HUENENBERG, Switzerland - December 14, 2009 - Alcon
(NYSE: ACL) announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to
acquire Optonol, Ltd., a medical device company that develops, manufactures and
markets novel miniature surgical implants used to lower intraocular pressure
(IOP) in patients with glaucoma. With this acquisition, Alcon will acquire
Optonol's Ex-PRESS Mini Glaucoma Shunt. This agreement will complement Alcon's
pharmaceutical products that lower IOP in patients with glaucoma and ocular
hypertension, and will be additive to the company's growth
transaction demonstrates Alcon's strong commitment to providing physicians with
comprehensive treatment options for patients with glaucoma, the world's second
leading cause of blindness," said Robert Warner, Alcon's vice president of U.S.
pharmaceutical products. "This surgical procedure provides incremental surgeon
and patient benefits over trabeculectomy, which is currently considered the
standard of care in glaucoma surgical therapy."
American Medical Association (AMA) assigned the Ex-PRESS Mini Glaucoma
effective July 1, 2008 and it is currently reimbursed by Medicare and other
payors. The device is also
approved and currently marketed in Europe, Canada, Australia and several other
acquisition of Optonol is part of our strategy to bolster organic growth with
targeted investments in key therapeutic areas that have the potential to
contribute in both the near and long term," said Kevin Buehler, Alcon's
president and chief executive officer. "Because the product is
already approved in the United States and other major markets it will begin
contributing commercially in 2010."
closing of the acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and the
receipt of required regulatory approvals and is expected to occur by the end of
the first quarter of 2010.
is an eye disease that causes loss of sight by damaging a part of the eye called
the optic nerve. When glaucoma damages the optic nerve, subtle loss
of vision begins in the peripheral vision and can progress to loss of central
vision and blindness. Glaucoma has no signs or symptoms and sufferers
usually do not notice the disease until significant vision loss has
to the World Health Organization (WHO), the estimated number of persons blinded
as a result of open angle glaucoma is 4.5 million, accounting for more than
twelve percent of all global blindness.
Ltd. is a privately-held company located in Neve Ilan, Israel that manufactures
and markets the Ex-PRESS Mini Glaucoma Shunt. The
device reduces intraocular pressure (IOP) by diverting the aqueous humor from
the anterior chamber into the subconjunctival space of the eye. The procedure
has comparable IOP lowering effectiveness to a trabeculectomy, but it is more
predictable, more efficient and associated with less post-operative
Inc. is the world's leading eye care company, with sales of approximately $6.3
billion in 2008. Alcon, which has been dedicated to the ophthalmic industry for
65 years, researches, develops, manufactures and markets pharmaceuticals,
surgical equipment and devices, contacts lens solutions and other vision care
products that treat diseases, disorders and other conditions of the eye. Alcon
operates in 75 countries and sells products in 180 markets. For more
information on Alcon, Inc., visit the Company's web site at www.alcon.com.
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