MONROVIA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ: STAA), a leading developer, manufacturer
and marketer of implantable lenses and companion delivery systems for
the eye, today announced a Strategic Cooperation Agreement with the
Smile Eyes Group, an alliance of more than 80 eye experts across 13
vision correction eye centers in Germany and Austria. The agreement
positions the EVO Visian ICL family of lenses as a premium and primary
refractive procedure for patients suffering from nearsightedness
(distance vision correction needs). EVO is the latest version of STAAR
Surgical Company’s implantable collamer lens (ICL) that works with the
patient’s natural eye to correct vision and provide patients visual
freedom from spectacles and contact lenses. The central hole of the EVO
lens allows for the eye’s natural nourishing aqueous flow and a single
surgical procedure.
“We have only our patients’ eyes in mind at the Smile Eyes Group so high
medical and aesthetic standards are especially important to me, as I
consider the comfort and well-being of our patients,” said Dr. Laszlo
Kiraly, Founder and Medical Director of the Smile Eyes Clinic in
Leipzig, Germany. “I see the patient as diopter independent and judge
each by the cornea, and patient needs, not by the diopter in terms of
EVO Visian ICL excellence and safety. To me there is no difference in
the precise and excellent outcome with EVO Visian ICL, whether I treat a
low or high refractive error,” concluded Dr. Kiraly.
“The EVO Visian ICL procedure is fascinating to me because of its
effectiveness and quality of vision only a few hours after surgery.
During the 10 years I have been performing ICL surgery, I have seen
happy EVO patients with outstanding results and the ICL procedure has
become a premium and primary solution for vision correction within our
treatment spectrum,” stated Dr. Martin Bechmann, Founder of the Smile
Eyes Group. “Over time, we have learned the limitations of different
refractive procedures, and we have learned that the ICL family of lenses
can treat nearly every patient’s refractive error with stable and
excellent results, no matter if the patient is myopic, hyperopic – with
or without astigmatism. I am looking forward to our cooperation as an
official Strategic Cooperation Partner with STAAR Surgical, as I believe
that working with strong partners is a crucial element of practice
success today,” concluded Dr. Bechmann.
In 2016 STAAR Surgical Company announced the first Strategic Cooperation
Agreements with customers that now serves as the model for how the
Company conducts business. STAAR offers patient education, surgeon
training, and co-marketing support in exchange for committed levels of
growth and patient education by the clinic and positioning of the ICL
family of lenses as premium and primary.
“Our new agreement with the Smile Eyes Group positions the EVO Visian
ICL™ intraocular family of lenses as a primary and premium option for
patients seeking visual freedom from glasses and contact lenses,” said
Caren Mason, President and CEO of STAAR Surgical Company. “Surgeon
owners Dr. Laszlo Kiraly and Dr. Martin Bechmann have demonstrated a
high level of excellence and dedication to our ICL lenses. They are
considered experts in the field of refractive surgery and have each been
awarded the EVO Visian ICL Award several times including in 2018. Both
surgeons have performed the ICL procedure on physician colleagues who
now speak as testament to their visual freedom experiences to potential
patients. Germany is the fifth largest market for refractive vision
correction procedures in the world and represents an important market
for STAAR Surgical’s lenses. We look forward to working closely with the
Smile Eyes Group on patient education, marketing, and surgeon training
under this new strategic cooperation agreement.”
About STAAR Surgical
STAAR, which has been dedicated solely to ophthalmic surgery for over 30
years, designs, develops, manufactures and markets implantable lenses
for the eye with companion delivery systems. These lenses are intended
to provide visual freedom for patients, lessening or eliminating the
reliance on glasses or contact lenses. All of these lenses are foldable,
which permits the surgeon to insert them through a small incision.
STAAR’s lens used in refractive surgery is called an Implantable
Collamer® Lens or “ICL”, which includes the EVO Visian ICL™ product
line. More than 900,000 Visian ICLs have been implanted to date. To
learn more about the ICL go to: www.discovericl.com.
STAAR has approximately 400 full-time equivalent employees and markets
lenses in over 75 countries. Headquartered in Monrovia, CA, the company
operates manufacturing facilities in Aliso Viejo, CA and Monrovia, CA.
For more information, please visit the Company’s website at www.staar.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190212005039/en/
Investors & Media
EVC Group
Brian Moore,
310-579-6199
Doug Sherk, 415-652-9100
Source: STAAR Surgical Company
