EyeWorld is the official news magazine of the American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.
Issue link: https://digital.eyeworld.org/i/111385
68 EW International February 2013 It���s continued from page 66 around, Alcon might lead you to believe it���s a good bet. But folded so deeply into Novartis, is it really? As an industry person, you���d have to take the good that you know with any potential bad that you don���t. Then again, at least you don���t have to read the cacao leaves anymore (as during Nestle���s reign of both chocolate and Alcon). Then we get to the other big As: Abbott and Allergan. Let���s not forget AMO originally was spun off from Allergan in 2002, became an independent company, then was acquired by Abbott in 2009. That didn���t leave much time for AMO���s independent shares to be on the market, or to be an archrival to Alcon, certainly a perception by many in the industry at the time. Now gobbled up by Abbott, medical optics composed little more than 2% of company sales in Q3. Thinking back, did that rivalry really constitute an epic one considering the relatively small scale obviously involved? As for pharma/device combo companies, Alcon, Abbott, Bausch + Lomb, and others do offer all those products, limiting marketplace diversity. On the upside, Allergan, Cooper Companies, and Essilor continue to remain focused on eyecare and pub- OCULUS Pentacam��/Pentacam�� HR The indispensable tool for anterior segment analysis ��� Anterior and posterior corneal topography ��� 3D cataract analysis ��� Evaluation of corneal optical quality for premium IOLs ��� Holladay Report for post-refractive IOL calculations ��� NEW Iris camera and automatic HWTW measurement ��� NEW Belin/Ambrosio III, improved for Hyperopic eyes ��� LASIK Screening licly traded. Allergan���s earnings and revenue increased in Q3 2011, during which it announced pursuing anti-VEGF-A/PDGF-B treatments for AMD and related conditions. The company expected that Alphagan (brimonidine tartrate), Lumigan (bimatoprost), and Restasis (cyclosporine) would contribute about 32% toward overall sales in 2012. Add a couple more percentage points if you consider Latisse (bimatoprost) to be ���ophthalmic��� in that it is an eye drop that promotes cosmetic eye lash growth. Cooper Companies��� earnings per share increased $5.05 in 2012, up 39% from 2011. The vision unit contributed about 82% of revenue for 2012. Essilor���s mission statement says it all: ���To allow as many people as possible to see well to improve their quality of life.��� The company is immersed in eyecare, from lenses to optical instruments. In nine months ending September 30, the company exceeded a 12-15% revenue growth target set at the beginning of the year, posting 15.9%, according to the company. Interestingly, as of January, PPG Industries (Pittsburgh) is in discussions with Essilor over the future of their joint venture, Transitions Optical (Pinellas Park, Fla.). Already a subsidiary, Transitions Optical may get bounced from one company entirely to the other (in either direction), but a spinoff isn���t likely as that option hasn���t been mentioned publicly. What���s left? Possibly HOYA Corp. (Tokyo) and Sanofi-Aventis (Paris), according to more recent stories on Seeking Alpha by Mr. Simpson. He recalls Sanofi���s purchase of Fovea Pharmaceuticals in 2009 and believes the company could be another potential buyer of Bausch + Lomb. HOYA, meanwhile, has sizeable market shares in glasses, contact lenses, and increasingly in IOLs, he said. While there are other eyecare companies out there to invest in (and admittedly we���ve overlooked and simplified in some ways), many of the industry���s biggest players aren���t completely in the industry. Those that are seem to be doing fairly well lately, but there just aren���t that many operating independently. EW Editors��� note: Mr. Simpson had a financial interest in ISTA at the time his April 2011 article was published. Visit us at ASCRS ��� Booth #616 Contact information facebook.com/OCULUSusa Toll free 1-888-519-5375 sales@oculususa.com www.oculususa.com www.pentacam.com Simpson: tuonela.fool@gmail.com