Alcon Makes $285M Acquisition

FORT WORTH, TX – Alcon announced that it has acquired PowerVision Inc., a privately held, U.S.-based medical device development company focused on creating fluid-based intraocular lens implants.

Alcon paid $285 million to PowerVision at closing, with additional payments to be made based on regulatory and commercial milestones starting in 2023, according to a press release from Alcon, a division of Novartis.

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The acquisition “furthers Alcon’s commitment to bring this innovative, accommodating lens to cataract patients throughout the world,” the release stated.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Commercial availability of PowerVision’s IOL technology will be determined following significant additional development and clinical trials of the intraocular lens, according to the release.

“As the industry leader in cataract surgery, we’re eager to accelerate development of this potentially breakthrough accommodating lens technology,” said Michael Onuscheck, president of Global Business and Innovation. “By treating cataracts and restoring natural, continuous range of vision, this intraocular lens may be the preferred IOL for cataract surgery patients who desire spectacle independence.”

PowerVision’s lens design utilizes the eye’s natural accommodating response to transport fluid in the intraocular lens which is implanted in the eye’s capsular bag.

While most presbyopia-correcting intraocular lenses use a multifocal design that distributes light between different focal points, PowerVision’s fluid-based design creates a continuously variable monofocal lens, utilizing the natural contraction of the eye’s muscles, according to the release. This technology allows the patient to actively focus on objects, just as the natural crystalline lens does in a youthful eye, providing patients with a natural, continuous range of vision.

“We’re thrilled to officially join Alcon and its pioneering history of launching new innovation in the field of ophthalmology,” said Barry Cheskin, president and CEO and co-founder of PowerVision. “We look forward to bringing this innovative IOL technology to eye care providers and customers in the years ahead.”