Article preview reprinted from Medtech Insight -September/October 2009
The 2009 Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons and Presbyopia International 2009 Symposium took place against a backdrop of relative optimism within the refractive surgery industry. There are signs that the laser vision correction market may have hit bottom during the middle of 2009. Read more...
Article preview reprinted from Medtech Insight -September/October 2009
SCRS 2009: The Next Wave in Cataract and Presbyopia Devices
The 2009 Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS) and Presbyopia International 2009 Symposium, held in Barcelona in September, took place against a backdrop of relative optimism within the refractive surgery industry. There are signs that the laser vision correction (LVC) market, consisting primarily of laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK), may have hit bottom during the middle of 2009, after about six straight quarters of declining procedure trends. Although overall US LVC procedure volumes will likely be down another 15% to 20% for the full year, according to Market Scope LLC, following a 26% decline in 2008, the declines for 2009 mostly occurred during the first half of the year, with year-over-year trends flattening during the second half. (See Exhibit 1.) Modest procedure growth is expected for 2010. In Europe, where consumer confidence remains higher than in the US, LVC procedure volumes have been relatively stable in 2009, following roughly 20% declines in 2008.
The other sources of optimism at ESCRS were the prospect of renewed merger and acquisition activity within the cataract and refractive surgery industry and continued enthusiasm about new presbyopia-correcting technology and premium intraocular lenses (IOLs). Interest in the latter intensified following the announcement in September that Abbott Laboratories Inc.'s Abbott Medical Optics Inc. (AMO) would acquire privately held Visiogen Inc. for $400 million in cash. The acquisition is expected to close by the end of 2009. Based in Irvine, CA, Visiogen has developed the Synchrony Accommodating IOL, a next-generation dual-optic design that aims to deliver a greater level of accommodation than single-optic IOLs such as Crystalens from Bausch & Lomb Inc. Visiogen has submitted its Premarket Approval (PMA) application to the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA), and approval of Synchrony is expected in mid 2010. Visiogen has raised over $80 million in venture capital since 2001. According to Abbott, the IOL market, worth about $1.9 billion today, is expected to reach $2.7 billion in sales in 2014, with accommodating IOLs comprising over 20% of the market.
On the cataract surgery front, a key highlight of ESCRS 2009 was the presentation of new femtosecond laser technology designed for cataract surgery that could represent the most significant advance in this procedure since the introduction of ultrasonic phacoemulsification by Charles Kelman, MD, in the late 1960s.
New Laser Technology Pushes Cataract Surgery to the Next Level
For nearly four decades, the use of phacoemulsification with an ultrasonic handpiece has been the gold standard for chopping up the opacified crystalline lens prior to aspiration (removal) in eyes with cataracts. Despite the success of this technology, several companies have been investigating the use of femtosecond (FS) lasers over the past few years as a way to bring greater precision to several of the key steps in cataract surgery. This higher level of surgical precision may become an important contributor to the proper performance of premium IOLs. At ESCRS 2009, some of these new technologies were presented to the ophthalmic community for the first time.
FS lasers have been widely adopted over the past eight years for use in creating corneal flaps as the first step in LASIK procedures and have also been used extensively for therapeutic applications such as corneal transplant. FS laser technology was introduced to the ophthalmology market by IntraLase Corp., which is now part of AMO. IntraLase/AMO remains the dominant market leader in this segment. Over the past few years, competing FS lasers for refractive and corneal surgery have been introduced by Technolas Perfect Vision GMBH, Ziemer Ophthalmic Systems AG, and Carl Zeiss Meditec AG/Carl Zeiss AG. Another new system is under development by WaveLight AG/Nestle SA.
Michael Lachman is a consultant specializing in health care strategy and research and is a contributing writer for Medtech Insight
Purchase this article online as a PDF and receive it immediately via email. Questions? Call (800) 332-2181. 100% Satis faction Guaranteed. Subscribe to Medtech Insight.
Companies mentioned in this article:
Abbott Medical Optics Inc.
Visiogen Inc.
AcuFocus Inc.
Bausch & Lomb Inc.
Carl Zeiss AG
Carl Zeiss Meditec AG
Cleveland Clinic
Digilab LLC
BioVisioN AG
LenSx Lasers Inc.
Lenstec Inc.
Nestle SA
Alcon Inc.
WaveLight AG
Nidek Co. Ltd.
OptiMedica Corp.
ReVision Optics Inc.
Refractec LLC
Technolas Perfect Vision GMBH
University of Miami
Ziemer Ophthalmic Systems AG
About Medtech Insight
Medtech Insight newsletter provides insights into the technology and market developments (devices, instrumentation, biomaterials, gene therapy, tissue engineering, etc.) impacting a wide range of surgical and non-surgical clinical practices
.jpg)
.jpg)
Comments