Healthcare Industry News: intraocular lens
News Release - April 2, 2007
Advanced Medical Optics Completes Acquisition of IntraLase
SANTA ANA, Calif.--(HSMN NewsFeed)--Advanced Medical Optics, Inc. (AMO) (NYSE:EYE ), a global leader in ophthalmic surgical devices and eye care products, today announced it has completed the acquisition of IntraLase Corp.The acquisition was approved by IntraLase stockholders on March 30, 2007 and closed today consistent with the company's original timetable to complete the acquisition early in the second quarter. AMO announced on January 8, 2007, a definitive agreement for AMO to acquire IntraLase for approximately $808 million in cash. Under the terms of the agreement, AMO paid $25 in cash per share of IntraLase stock and the individually determined cash value per share of outstanding stock options.
"We have taken a major step toward defining a new standard of care in laser vision correction," said AMO Chairman, President and CEO Jim Mazzo. "Along with the recently announced acquisition of WaveFront Sciences, AMO now owns the most advanced corneal refractive technologies on the market with the ability to offer a full systems approach that is without peer in the industry. The addition of IntraLase's state-of-the-art femtosecond laser technology to AMO's unmatched portfolio of corneal and cataract products allows us to forge a new path for vision care with a full suite of technologies to address a lifetime of refractive needs."
AMO expects to leverage the large installed bases of AMO and IntraLase and combine their international expansion strategies to further establish its position as the industry leader in laser diagnostics, flap-creation and ablation technologies.
The acquisition also gives AMO entry into the corneal transplant market with the IntraLase® enabled keratoplasty (IEK) technology.
"The IntraLase® femtosecond laser is revolutionizing corneal transplantation because it allows us, for the first time, to precisely create complex, interlocking incision contours that can seal better and potentially heal faster," said Dr. Frank Price of the Price Vision Group in Indianapolis, Indiana. "The IntraLase® laser also creates matching reference marks on the donor and recipient cornea to help the surgeon minimize post-operative astigmatism. In short, IntraLase® enabled IEK combines the clarity of a full-thickness graft with the advantages of a stepped incision and the stronger healing effects that have long been noted with IntraLase®-created side-cut incisions for LASIK."
About IntraLase Technology
More than 1,200 surgeons worldwide have incorporated the IntraLase Method(TM) into their LASIK practices. Many U.S. ophthalmic teaching institutes, including Duke University Medical School, the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins, the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute at University of Miami, and Stanford University, use the IntraLase FS(TM) laser technology to train future generations of LASIK surgeons.
The 4th generation IntraLase FS(TM) laser uses an infrared light beam, generating 60,000 pulses per second, to prepare the intracorneal bed and create the corneal flap in the first step of LASIK.
- Using an "inside-out" process, the laser beam is precisely focused to a point within the cornea.
- The laser pulses then creates thousands of microscopic bubbles which define the incision within the intracorneal surface.
- Along the edge, bubbles are then stacked up at a beveled angle - a feature unique to the IntraLase Method(TM) - to the corneal surface to complete the flap.
- From start to finish, the IntraLase Method(TM) typically takes 15-30 seconds.
- The physician then exposes the prepared corneal bed for excimer laser treatment (the second step of LASIK) by lifting the flap.
- The LASIK procedure is complete when the flap is securely repositioned on its beveled edge.
Key benefits of the IntraLase® technology include:
- Enabling surgeons to more precisely control the first critical step of LASIK including flap diameter, depth, hinge location and width, and side cut architecture.
- Providing a thin and planar flap resulting in improved biomechanical stability.
- Enabling for precise repositioning, alignment and seating after the LASIK procedure is completed, reducing the risk of flap displacement, a complication occasionally seen after microkeratome flaps.
- Enhanced safety profile as evidenced in a presentation by Elizabeth A. Davis, M.D. and Richard L. Lindstrom, M.D.: "Early Experience with the 30 kHz IntraLase."
- Clinically proven superior overall visual outcomes in both standard and custom LASIK procedures with more patients achieving visual acuity of 20/20, 20/15, and 20/12.5 as evidenced in a presentation by Daniel S. Durrie, M.D.: "Randomized, Prospective, Contralateral Study of LASIK: IntraLase laser Versus Mechanical Keratome."
About Advanced Medical Optics (AMO)
AMO develops advanced, life-improving vision technologies for people of all ages. Products in the cataract/implant line include intraocular lenses (IOLs), phacoemulsification systems, viscoelastics, and related products used in ocular surgery. AMO owns or has the rights to such product brands as ReZoom(TM), Tecnis®, Clariflex®, Sensar®, and Verisyse(TM) IOLs, Sovereign® and Sovereign® Compact(TM) phacoemulsification systems with WhiteStar® technology, Healon® viscoelastics, and the Baerveldt® glaucoma shunt. Products in the laser vision correction line include wavefront diagnostic devices, femtosecond lasers and associated patient interface devices, and excimer laser vision correction systems and treatment cards. AMO brands in the laser vision correction business include Star S4 IR(TM), WaveScan Wavefront®, CustomVue(TM), IntraLase FS(TM), IntraLase Method(TM) and IntraLasik(TM). Products in the contact lens care line include disinfecting solutions, enzymatic cleaners and lens rewetting drops. Among the eye care product brands the company possesses are COMPLETE Moisture PLUS®, COMPLETE® Blink-N-Clean®, Consept®F, Consept® 1 Step, Oxysept® 1 Step, UltraCare®, Ultrazyme®, Total Care(TM) and blink(TM) branded products. AMO is based in Santa Ana, California, and employs approximately 4,200 worldwide. The company has operations in 24 countries and markets products in approximately 60 countries. For more information, visit the company's Website at www.amo-inc.com.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained in this document that refer to AMO's estimated or future results such as statements of Jim Mazzo and Dr. Price, and expected product features and benefits and expected transaction benefits are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. In any forward-looking statement in which AMO expresses an expectation or belief as to future results, such expectation or belief is expressed in good faith and believed to have a reasonable basis, but there can be no assurance that the statement or expectation or belief will result or be achieved or accomplished. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements: risks associated with successfully integrating AMO and IntraLase, the failure to realize the synergies and other perceived advantages resulting from the transaction, costs associated with the transaction, the ability to retain key personnel both before and after the transaction, AMO's ability to successfully execute its business strategies, unforeseen impacts of AMO's 2006 recall of eye care solutions, the extent and timing of regulatory approvals, and the extent and timing of market acceptance of new products or product indications, manufacturing, litigation, the procurement, maintenance, enforcement and defense of patents and proprietary rights, competitive conditions in the industry, business cycles affecting the markets in which any products may be sold, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates and interest rates, and economic conditions generally or in various geographic areas, including those set forth in AMO's and IntraLase's most recent Annual Reports on Form 10-K, especially in the "Risk Factors" sections, and their respective Current Reports on Form 8-K and other SEC filings. AMO is under no obligation to (and expressly disclaims any such obligation to) update or alter its forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
Source: Advanced Medical Optics
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