Press Releases 2026

Shows 80% of Consumers Want to be Free of Glasses and Contacts, 58% Want a Reversible Option, and 59% Are Opposed to Laser Correction

Safety Concerns and Procedure Fears Outrank Affordability as Primary Barriers to Laser Correction

Consumer Research Uncovers the Demand Drivers Fueling Implantable Lens Growth as Laser Procedures Stagnate or Decline in Markets Surveyed

LAKE FOREST, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ: STAA), the global leader in phakic IOLs with the EVO™ family of Implantable Collamer^® Lenses (EVO ICL™) for vision correction, today released a new report entitled The Future of Refractive Surgery, the first comprehensive global market analysis showing a consistent, multi-market migration toward implantable lens correction driven by durable tailwinds on the demand and clinical sides of the market.

The report examines patient sentiment, procedure volume trends, and clinical practice patterns across Japan, China, South Korea, the United States, Germany, Spain, and the UK and Ireland. Drawing on a consumer survey of 7,800 respondents and data from leading academic research, this groundbreaking report demonstrates a consistent, multi-market migration toward implantable lens correction.¹

The STAAR Surgical team will be available to discuss the results of the report at the upcoming 44th Congress of the ESCRS in London from September 11–15, 2026, where the Company will engage with ophthalmic surgeons and industry leaders from around the world.

A Market in Transition from Laser to Lens

The report documents the shifts happening simultaneously on the demand and clinical sides of the market. Across every geographic region surveyed, excimer laser procedure volumes have declined or stagnated, while phakic IOL (implantable lens) adoption has continued to increase — even in markets where ICL brand awareness remains relatively low.

The most striking divergence is in the United States, where laser procedure volume has declined 52% since 2022 — four consecutive years of double-digit losses — while EVO ICL adoption has expanded 76% over the same period, more than tripling its market share.

Patient Sentiment Is the Primary Leading Indicator in the Shift

The report identifies shifting patient attitudes as the clearest leading indicator of future procedure volume. As stated in the report, 80% of consumers surveyed said they want to be free of glasses and contacts altogether, and 58% said they are attracted to a reversible option. More than half (59%) stated they are not open to laser correction. Globally, safety concerns (38%) and fear of the procedure (38%) outrank cost (32%) as primary barriers to laser correction.

Japan, where ICL already accounts for more than half of all refractive procedures, represents the most advanced market for lens-based vision correction. ICL awareness is high: Of those polled in Japan for the Future of Refractive Surgery Report, 46% had unaided awareness of ICL compared to 40% for LASIK.

While the U.S. and key European markets are showing the same directional signals at an earlier stage, awareness of laser alternatives remains low: fewer than one in five consumers are aware of implantable lens correction in Germany (18.9%), the U.S. (19.3%), and the UK and Ireland (20%). Awareness in Spain is 27%.

The Forces Behind the Shift Are Structural

The report identifies two converging forces accelerating the transition:

• The information environment has changed. Patients now research vision correction through search engines, social media, online communities, and AI tools before and alongside clinical consultations. In the U.S., 53.5% of consumers say they would use search engines and 25.5% would use AI tools such as ChatGPT to research vision correction, exposing more patients to peer accounts of regression and laser complications, such as dry eye and corneal neuropathy.
• Clinical practice patterns are adapting. According to an AECOS study of 1,882 eyes across 19 U.S. practices, ICL was the most-performed refractive procedure (72%) in patients with -8.0 diopters and above.² As surgeon training and familiarity expand, the clinical case for recommending lens-based correction as a first-line option is increasing.

Growing Patient Population is a Long-Term Tailwind

The report projects that the structural tailwinds behind this shift will intensify. Global high myopia (-6D and above) is projected to approach 1 billion people by 2050, with the largest concentrations in East and Southeast Asia.³ Globally, phakic IOLs have more than quadrupled their share of refractive procedures over the past decade while laser volumes have been broadly flat. The shift is most advanced in Asia: Japan has by far the highest phakic IOL share of any refractive market; South Korea has the highest per-capita phakic IOL penetration of any country; and China is the largest phakic IOL market in the world by volume.⁴

STAAR also has secured expanded label indications for EVO ICL in key markets, including down to -0.5D in Brazil and an expanded age range of 21–60 in the United States, broadening the eligible patient population.

"The question is no longer whether lens-based correction will define the future of refractive surgery," the report concludes. "The evidence across seven markets suggests the question is how quickly each market will complete the transition."

The full report, including market-by-market findings, is available at https://www.staar.com/future-of-refractive-surgery.

References

1. STAAR Surgical Consumer Survey, Global Combined Summary (n=7,800). Fieldwork: March 2025 (UK), August 2025 (US), March 2026 (Germany, Spain), May 2026 (China, Japan, South Korea).
2. AECOS US Refractive Surgery Study Data 2024, n=1,882 procedures, Internal Data on File.
3. Holden BA, Fricke TR, Wilson DA, et al. Global prevalence of myopia and high myopia and temporal trends from 2000 through 2050. Ophthalmology. 2016
4. Market Scope. 2025 Refractive Surgery Market Report. Market Scope, LLC; 2025.

About STAAR Surgical

STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ: STAA) is the global leader in implantable phakic intraocular lenses, a vision correction solution that reduces or eliminates the need for glasses or contact lenses. Since 1982, STAAR has been dedicated solely to ophthalmic surgery, and for over 30 years, STAAR has been designing, developing, manufacturing, and marketing advanced Implantable Collamer® Lenses (ICLs), using its proprietary biocompatible Collamer material. STAAR ICLs are clinically proven to deliver safe long-term vision correction without removing corneal tissue or the eye's natural crystalline lens. Its EVO ICL™ product line provides visual freedom through a quick, minimally invasive procedure. STAAR has sold more than 4 million ICLs in over 85 countries. Headquartered in Lake Forest, California, the Company operates research, development, manufacturing, and packaging facilities in California and Switzerland. For more information about ICL, visit www.discovericl.com. To learn more about STAAR, visit www.staar.com.

Disclaimer

We intend to use our website as a means of disclosing material non-public information about the Company and for complying with Regulation FD. Such disclosures will be included on our website in the ‘Investor Relations’ sections at investors.staar.com. Accordingly, investors should monitor such portion of our website, in addition to following our press releases, SEC filings and public conference calls and webcasts. In addition, you may automatically receive email alerts and other information about the Company when you enroll your email address by visiting the Email Alerts section at investors.staar.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements often contain words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “expect,” “plan,” “estimate,” “project,” “continue,” “will,” “should,” “may,” and similar terms. All statements in this press release that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from what is expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to: our ability to grow and generate profit; our reliance on independent distributors in international markets; a slowdown or disruption to the Chinese economy; global economic and geopolitical conditions; disruptions in our supply chain; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; international trade disputes (including involving tariffs) and substantial dependence on demand from Asia; changes in effective tax rate or tax laws; any loss of use of our principal manufacturing facility; competition; potential losses due to product liability claims; our exposure to environmental liability; data corruption, cyber-based attacks or network security breaches and/or noncompliance with data protection and privacy regulations; acquisitions of new technologies; climate changes; the willingness of surgeons and patients to adopt a new or improved product and procedure; extensive clinical trials and resources devoted to research and development; compliance with government regulations; the discretion of regulatory agencies to approve or reject existing, new or improved products, or to require additional actions before or after approval, or to take enforcement action; laws pertaining to healthcare fraud and abuse; changes in FDA or international regulations related to product approval; product recalls or failures; and other important factors set forth in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 2, 2026 under the caption “Risk Factors,” which is filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and available in the “Investor Information” section of the Company’s website under the heading “SEC Filings,” as any such factors may be updated from time to time in the Company’s other filings with the SEC.

Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made and, except as may be required under applicable law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260910302464/en/

Investor/Media Contact:

[email protected]

Connie Johnson

(626) 303-7902 (ext. 2207)

[email protected]

Source: STAAR Surgical Company