Alcon eyecare leader acquires Israeli glaucoma care company
Source：Israel21C
From：Taiwan Trade & Innovation Center, Tel Aviv
Update Time：2024/08/30
Geneva-based Alcon, the world’s largest eye care devices company, has closed deal to acquire Israeli company Belkin Vision for $81 million, including a cash payment of approximately $65 million. The deal’s value is further enhanced by the potential for up to $385 million in payments, contingent upon sales-based milestones.
The Belkin Vision Eagle provides direct selective laser trabeculoplasty (DSLT), an automatic, non-contact, first-line laser treatment for glaucoma, one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide.
DSLT improves on traditional SLT by including proprietary eye-tracking technology to ensure accurate, automated treatment delivery. This makes the treatment much more intuitive and accessible to patients and physicians anywhere.
Alcon plans to continue to supply the Eagle in the European Union and United Kingdom, where it is already sold, and aims to make the device available to US physicians by the end of 2024; it was approved by the US FDA last December.
“As a therapy with significant advantages for the patient and practice, we believe our newly acquired DSLT technology is uniquely positioned to accelerate the evolution toward first-line use of SLT in the glaucoma treatment paradigm,” said Alcon Global Surgical Franchise President Sean Clark.
Alcon, with annual sales of around $10 billion in 140 countries, makes surgical and vision care products for conditions including cataracts, glaucoma, retinal diseases and refractive errors.
“We look forward to broadening access to this exciting technology in the future as we continue to address solutions for unmet needs in glaucoma,” said Clark.
Belkin Vision was founded in 2013 by Dr. Michael Belkin from Tel Aviv University’s Eye Research Institute at Sheba Medical Center and Daria Lemann Blumenthal, the company’s CEO, in collaboration with Tel Aviv University tech-transfer company Ramot. Belkin Vision is affiliated with Sheba’s ARC Innovation Center.
Belkin, an ophthalmologist and serial entrepreneur, sold his previous glaucoma-focused company, Optonol, to Alcon in 2009 for $200 million.
“The acquisition of Belkin Vision exemplifies the resilience and vitality of the Israeli high-tech and startup sectors,” said Sheba Medical Center Chief Transformation and Innovation Officer Prof. Eyal Zimlichman, founder and director of ARC Innovation.
“It highlights the synergy between technological innovation, Israeli entrepreneurship, and clinicians at the patient’s bedside, which combine to drive improved medical care, benefitting patients globally and generating investor profits,” Zimlichman said.
Avner Halperin, CEO of Sheba Impact, Sheba Medical Center’s entrepreneurship and commercialization arm, said, “We congratulate the management of Belkin Vision, led by CEO Daria Lemann-Blumenthal, for achieving international success despite the challenges of our time. The company is forging the path towards groundbreaking advancements in vision preservation.”
Source: https://www.israel21c.org/alcon-eyecare-leader-acquires-israeli-glaucoma-care-company/