Alcon to acquire Optonol

Huenenberg, Switzerland

-Alcon Laboratories Inc. plans to acquire Optonol Ltd. by the end of first quarter.

Alcon expects that the purchase of the medical device company, which develops, manufactures, and markets novel miniature surgical implants used to lower IOP in people with glaucoma, will complement its line of pharmaceutical products that have the same goal.

Effective July 1, 2008, the American Medical Association assigned CPT 0192T to Optonol’s mini glaucoma shunt (Ex-PRESS). Medicare and other payers reimburse for the implant, and the device also is approved and marketed Canada and Australia as well as countries in Europe and other parts of the world.

“The acquisition of Optonol is part of our strategy to bolster organic growth with targeted investments in key therapeutic areas that have the potential to contribute in both the near and long term,” said Kevin Buehler, Alcon’s president and chief executive officer. “Because the product is already approved in the United States and other major markets, it will begin contributing commercially in 2010.”