Alcon Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Medical Design Sourcing

Proposed 2023 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule could have a big impact on glaucoma surgeries

[Photo by Tobias Dahlberg]

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has released its proposed Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and issued a call for feedback on the proposed rule, which would take effect Jan. 1, 2023.

Medtech analyst Ryan Zimmerman and the team at BTIG went through the 2,000-page document and identified potentially market-moving changes in two areas: surgical glaucoma and advanced wound care.

CMS proposed cuts for most surgical glaucoma procedure payment rates to physicians, with double-digit losses for tube shunt revision (down 25% from $1,032 to $774), canaloplasty (down 19.9% from $761 to $610) and canaloplasty with a stent (down 11.4% from $799 to $708), according to BTIG research.

The canalplasty rate reduction would likely hit Omni surgical system developer Sight Sciences, Zimmerman said in a BTIG report. It could also give a lift to Alcon and Glaukos, which could see…

Alcon to pay $60M to acquire Kala Pharmaceuticals’ dry eye treatment

Alcon (NYSE:ACL) announced today that it agreed to acquire Eysuvis pharmaceutical eye drops from Kala Pharmaceuticals.

Geneva, Switzerland-based Alcon will pay $60 million upfront to Kala for the dry eye treatment. As part of the agreement, the company will also acquire Kala’s Inveltys corticosteroid for twice-per-day treatment of post-operative inflammation and pain following ocular surgery.

Get the full story at our sister site, Drug Delivery Business News.

Alcon beats the Street with Q1 results

Alcon (SIX/NYSE:ALC) posted first quarter results today that beat the consensus forecast on Wall Street and maintained its sales and earnings outlook for the rest of the year.

The Geneva, Switzerland–based eye care tech company reported profits of $168 million, or $0.34 per share, on sales of $2.2 billion for the three months ended March 31, 2022, for a bottom-line gain of 100% and sales growth of 14% compared with Q1 2021.

“We saw a strong start to the year and our first-quarter results demonstrate the continued strength of our innovative product portfolio and commercial execution,” Alcon CEO David Endicott said in a news release. … “While we are pleased with these results, we continue to expect broader headwinds, including inflation and foreign exchange pressures, to persist.”

Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share were $0.68, $0.16 ahead of the Street, where analysts were looking for EPS of $0.52 on sales…

18 of the world’s most innovative medical technologies

[Images courtesy of Sysmex, Abbott, Boston Scientific, Medtronic and Siemens Healthineers]Judges this week are voting for the most innovative medical technologies among the nominees for the 2022 Prix Galien International Awards.

The Prix Galien International Awards highlight the most innovative technologies in the life sciences industry. The New York-based Galien Foundation presents the international award to eligible nominees that have received a Prix Galien award within the last two years in the Best Biotechnology Product, Best Digital Health Solution, Best Medical Technology, Best Pharmaceutical Product and Best Vaccine categories.

The Prix Galien International Awards ceremony will be co-hosted with the Prix Galien U.K. Award ceremony on May 12 at the Natural History Museum in London.

Companies included in this year’s nominees range from large multinational corporations like Medtronic to smaller medtech companies like Devices4Care. Here are the 18 medica…

Alcon SmartCataract study shows enhanced time savings during cataract surgery

Alcon (NYSE:ALC) announced data from a clinical study supporting the use of its SmartCataract solutions for cataract surgery.

Geneva, Switzerland-based Alcon will present the data at this year’s American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) meeting.

According to a news release, Alcon’s latest data for the SmartCataract demonstrates significant time savings delivered during the cataract evaluation, planning process, operating room (OR) and postoperative (post-op) workflow.

The company’s SmartCataract represents the first application in Alcon’s comprehensive cloud-based platform for surgical ophthalmic practices. Alcon designed the platform to link data systems and most diagnostic devices — including the Argos biometer with image guidance — with cataract surgical equipment, including the LenSx femtosecond laser and LuxOR Revalia ophthalmic microscope.

SmartCataract also connects via the cloud to Alcon’s Op…

Alcon launches new dry eye treatment device

Alcon announced that it introduced the Systane iLux meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) thermal pulsation system.

Geneva, Switzerland-based Alcon designed the all-in-one, handheld Systane iLux MGD thermal pulsation device with new imaging technology to capture infrared photos and HD video of the meibomian glands, allowing patients to see the need for treatment, visualize their procedure and experience results in the treatment of their dry eye condition in as little as one week.

Alcon said in a news release that the Systane iLux MGD thermal pulsation system expands its current dry eye treatment offerings and allows practitioners to tailor MGD treatment to the needs of each individual patient in just eight to 12 minutes.

Eye care professionals are able to customize heat and compression across each easy-to-use visualization treatment zone with the Systane iLux MGD system, Alcon added.

“Alcon is dedicated to the advancement of medical device technology …

Alcon launches Clareon intraocular lens in U.S.

Alcon (SIX/NYSE:ALC) announced today that it launched the Clareon family of intraocular lenses (IOLs) in the U.S.

Geneva, Switzerland-based Alcon designed the Clareon family of lenses with a glistening-free IOL material that has among the lowest levels of haze and subsurface nanoglistenings (SSNGs) compared to leading competitors’ IOLs, according to a news release.

The company describes Clareon as offering sharp, crisp vision with a proprietary edge for helping to reduce glare and posterior capsular opacification, while its Stableforce haptics provide strong axial and rotational stability. Clareon IOLs are inserted using the next-generation, reusable Clareon Monarch IV delivery system.

Alcon also made its Clareon Monofocal available in the next-generation, automated, single-use delivery system called AutonoMe. Clareon Toric will be available in the U.S. later this year and the company will roll out the Clareon family of IOLs in international market…

Alcon stock up on Street-beating Q4

Alcon (SIX/NYSE:ALC) stock is up today after the eye care tech company reported fourth-quarter results that surpassed Wall Street expectations.

Geneva, Switzerland–based Alcon yesterday evening reported profits of $139 million, or 28¢ per share, off $2.149 billion in sales for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2021, for a bottom-line gain of 46% and a top-line gain of 11% compared with Q4 2020.

Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share were 56¢, 4¢ ahead of The Street, where analysts were looking EPS of 52¢ on sales of $2.08 billion.

“We have secured our position as the global leader in eye care, and our 2021 performance demonstrates the resilience of our business, the strength of our innovation engine and the expertise of our commercial organization,” Alcon CEO David J. Endicott said in a news release. “Our strong product flow resulted in revenue growth above-market, which drove core operating leverage and margin expansion.”

Alcon pro…

Alcon to acquire Ivantis for $475M

Alcon (NYSE:ALC) announced today that it intends to acquire glaucoma surgery device maker Ivantis for $475 million upfront.

Geneva, Switzerland-based Alcon aims to bolster its portfolio across cataract, refractive, retina and glaucoma offerings with the acquisition of Ivantis and its novel Hydrus Microstent for minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS).

Ivantis designed the Hydrus Microstent to lower intraocular pressure for open-angle glaucoma patients in connection with cataract surgery. A five-year study demonstrated that 65% of Hydrus Microstent patients remained medication-free at five years post-implant with a more than 60% reduction in risk of invasive secondary glaucoma surgeries compared to cataract surgery alone, according to a news release.

The FDA approved the Hydrus Microstent in August 2018 for use in conjunction with cataract surgery in the U.S., while it is indicated for primary open-angle glaucoma in conjunction with cataract surgery or…

Women researchers receive a fraction of funding from the world’s biggest medtech companies

The gender divide in medtech extends beyond leadership and into funding for investigational studies by U.S. physicians.

Only 6.7% of physicians who received research payments from the world’s largest medical device companies in 2020 were women, according to an analysis of Medical Design & Outsourcing’s Big 100 list of medtech companies and CMS Open Payments data.

Among the 20 medical device companies that fund research by U.S. physicians are 3M, Abbott, BD, Boston Scientific, Johnson & Johnson (dba J&J Surgical Vision and J&J Vision Care), Medtronic (dba Medtronic, Medtronic Minimed, Medtronic USA, Medtronic Vascular), Royal Philips (dba Philips Electronics), Stryker and Zimmer Biomet.

Together, those companies paid $3.9 million to 312 doctors in 2020, but only 21 were women, receiving a collective $402,600.

Women physicians, on average, received 15.7% of payments from each of the top medtech companies, but accounted f…

MedTech 100 roundup: On the rise again

After a slight hiccup disrupted weeks of improvement, the medtech industry again flexed its muscles over the last seven days.

MassDevice‘s MedTech 100 Index — which includes stocks of the world’s largest medical device companies — finished last week (Aug. 20) at 119.63 points, representing a 1.5% rise from the 117.92-point tally set a week prior.

The shift marks a quick rebound from the -1.2% dip observed in the previous week and the index now sits at its highest week-ending mark ever, having actually hit an all-time best of 119.72 points on Aug. 17.

Medtech’s performance continues to reflect an overall rebound from the struggles brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, too. The industry remains well above the marks set around the height of the pandemic, having registered a 29.6% increase from the pre-pandemic high of 92.32 (set on Feb. 19, 2020). Moreover, it remains well ahead of the mid-pandemic low of 62.13 (March 23, 2020) as well, totaling an 92.5% asc…

Alcon reports 74% sales growth in Q2, raises 2021 guidance

Alcon (NYSE:ALC) this week posted second-quarter results that beat the overall consensus on Wall Street and raised its full-year guidance.

The Geneva-based eye care company reported profits of $151 million, or 31¢ per share, on sales of $2.1 billion for the three months ended June 30, for a sales growth of 74.79% compared with Q2 2020.

Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share were 56¢, 11¢ ahead of The Street, where analysts were looking for sales of $1.96 billion.

“Our second-quarter performance demonstrates the strength and resilience of our businesses, with our highest quarterly sales and earnings since our spin-off,” CEO David Endicott said in a news release. “Strong commercial execution behind our new product launches resulted in all sales categories in Surgical and Vision Care posting growth over 2019, notwithstanding the continued impact of COVID-19.”

“The healthy recovery in the business underlie…